T20 World Cup 2021: Mickey Arthur Expects Maheesh Theekshana To Be The Biggest Threat To Australia

Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur put forth the name of their latest mystery spinner, Maheesh Theekshana, as one of the biggest threats Australia will face in their Group 1 match in the Super 12 stage in the T20 World Cup.

Theekshana has shone brightly in the Round 1 of the ongoing tournament, claiming eight wickets in three games at an unreal average of 5.62. He was unavailable for Sri Lanka’s first match in the Super 12 stage against Bangladesh but has been cleared of any issues since then.

“We obviously have studied Australia. We had a series not so long ago when I was with Pakistan here against him [Theekshana] where we did use spin quite successfully. If you haven’t seen Maheesh, he certainly poses some questions. He has a couple of different balls that do make you quite hesitant if you can’t pick them,” Arthur was quoted as saying by West Australian ahead of the crucial match.

“I’ve seen some footage, you have to watch their hand closely” – David Warner on mystery spinners

Australian opener David Warner stated that playing against mystery spinners under the lights is quite a tough proposition. However, he was confident about the team’s chances as they’re well prepared against the subcontinental spinners.

“I like the word mystery spinner. I’ve seen some of the footage. You have to watch their hand closely and under lights, that’s a difficult thing to do, you don’t get to see the seam. From a batter’s perspective, it’s about applying pressure like you normally do to any bowler. We know coming up against sub-continental teams they like to play two or three spinners against us, which we’re prepared for,” Warner stated.

Australia defeated South Africa in their first match, while Sri Lanka is coming into the match on the back of a confidence-boosting win over Bangladesh.

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