Australia has recruited former India player Sridharan Sriram to help its team prepare for the conditions it will face in the World Twenty20 in India early next year, Cricket Australia said Wednesday. Sriram, an all-rounder who played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, worked with Australia A on its tour of India earlier this year and was slated to travel with the Test side to Bangladesh in October before the trip was postponed. The 39-year-old will work with the Australia side during its three warm-up matches against South Africa prior to its arrival in India for the March 8-April 3 tournament. Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey will also work with the side for two weeks of the tournament, bringing to bear his experience of playing on the Subcontinent in the India Premier League competition. "Sriram's focus will be on getting the players as prepared as possible for what they will face in India," Cricket Australia's Pat Howard said in a news release. "Mike has been one of our most successful players at transitioning between the different formats and his advice and support in this area will be of great benefit to the players who have played a large amount of test and ODI cricket in the last 12 months." Australia has played just one Twenty20 international in 2015, with the triumphant 50-over World Cup campaign and Test cricket taking priority. The World Twenty20 is the one major international prize that has eluded Australia, whose players in the past have struggled to combat spin bowling on the slow decks of the subcontinent. "As a proud Australian cricketer I am delighted to be involved in Australia's campaign for the World T20 title," said Hussey. "I'm really looking forward to working with the boys and assisting in any way possible with their preparation and match day plans." Australia plays New Zealand in Dharamsala on March 18 in its opening match of the tournament. ‘Conspiracy' in Perera positive test Sri Lanka's sports minister defended Wednesday wicketkeeper Kusal Perera who was suspended from the ongoing New Zealand tour after failing a drugs test, hinting at a conspiracy against the cricketer. Dayasiri Jayasekera told parliament that authorities will send a "B" sample for testing after the International Cricket Council announced last week that Perera tested positive for a banned steroid during a random check. "We are doing all we can to defend him," the minister said. "We are wondering if this allegation is a conspiracy to keep him out of next year's T20 World Cup." Defending champion Sri Lanka is contender to retake the title when the World T20 takes place from March to April in India next year. Jayasekera said Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had spoken to Perera who was abruptly pulled from the series in New Zealand involving two Tests, five ODI games and two T20 matches. Perera is Sri Lanka's second international player to fail a doping test. Left-hander Upul Tharanga was suspended for three months after testing positive during the 2011 World Cup. Tharanga blamed a "herbal remedy" that he had taken for a long-standing shoulder injury for failing the doping test.
