When Peter Handscomb Took a Leaf from Ajinkya Rahane’s Book
Aug 25, 2018 at 11:23 AM
Australia’s middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb abilities against spinners are well known. The right-hander makes good use of the crease and shimmies down the track to make use of his feet. Interestingly, Peter Handscomb revealed that he took a leaf from Indian deputy Ajinkya Rahane’s book.
However, it is known that Rahane averages less in the Indian conditions.
Handscomb is all impressed with Rahane’s technique against the spinners. The Australian batsman had played with Rahane in the IPL and the chat between the two helped the former.
Peter Handscomb has good technique against the spinners.
Thus, Handscomb has his bases covered while facing the spinners. In fact, he has proven his mettle in the arduous spin conditions of the sub-continent. A gritty match saving 72 in the third Test match at Ranchi and a match-winning 82 at Chittagong against Bangladesh in the second Test match is the testimony of the fact.
Handscomb gave credit to Ajinkya Rahane for improving his technique against the spinners.
“I played in the IPL (Indian Premier League) a couple of years back with Ajinkya Rahane. I love how he plays, he has the ability to play the spin off the back foot really well. I’ve watched him, had a couple of chats with him during that time, and I think he’s a quality player, and someone I’ve tried to emulate on occasions,” Peter Handscomb said as quoted by ICC.
Handscomb also praised Australia’s spin bowling coach Sridharan Sriram. Peter said Sriram’s inputs are helping them in tackling the spinners more successfully.
“(He) is one hell of a batter and bowler in his own right. Thus, he knows what to look for, and he’s been helping all us learn how to sweep, use our feet, play off the back foot,” said Handscomb.
“He watches each batter separately, understands that we’ve all got different techniques and different ways of playing certain shots. And then he finds their strengths and tries to teach that, coach that.”
Peter Handscomb is currently the part of the Australia A squad which is playing the Quadrangular series against India A, South Africa A and India B. Handscomb is looking to make a strong case for himself to be part of the upcoming two-match series against Pakistan in UAE.