Australia's secret weapon to combat Indian spin threat

Australia have called on a local mystery spinner to help them prepare for a rematch with Test nemesis Kuldeep Yadav in their upcoming ODI series.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep stunned Australia on Test debut in March, taking four first-day wickets in India's series-clinching win in Dharamsala, including those of ODI batsmen David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb.

The 22-year-old and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal are India's main spin weapons for the five-match ODI series and the Aussies trained against left-arm wrist spinner KK Jiyas on Friday and Saturday in preparation for another meeting with Yadav.

Image Id: 93642B29F271409EB6A8E142D2809522 Image Caption: Jiyas prepares to send down a delivery at training in Chennai // cricket.com.au

Australia's Indian spin consultant Sri Sriram asked 25-year-old Jiyas, who played alongside Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile at the Delhi Daredevils in 2015, to bowl to the Australians in the nets at MA Chidambaram Stadium ahead of Sunday's series opener.

While the previously uncapped Yadav surprised the Aussies in Dharamsala, captain Steve Smith says his side will be better prepared this time around.

"A few of the guys have played against him in the IPL and we saw what he did in Sri Lanka as well," Smith said.

"He's a good young talent. He can be difficult to pick at times so he's someone you've got to watch really closely.

"Hopefully we can put him under a little bit of pressure early in his spell and try and take him for as many (runs) as we can.

"(Bringing in Jiyas) is a chance to train against someone who bowls the same. There's not too many around the world so it's a little bit different and it's been good to get someone who bowls a bit of that."

With Test spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja contentiously rested for this series, having also been left out of the recent ODI campaign in Sri Lanka, the hosts will rely on Kuldeep, Chahal and left-arm orthodox tweaker Axar Patel to expose Australia's spin frailties.

Having made his ODI debut in June, Kuldeep has taken 11 wickets at 20 in seven ODIs as he and Chahal (five wickets at 38 this year) have been been preferred ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja in the 50-over format.

Jiyas reported he had mixed results bowling to the Australians on Friday.

"But for David Warner and Aaron Finch (injured), I bowled to all the other top batsmen and troubled a few of them," Jiyas told Times of India.

"Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner, though, hit me inside out and slogged me over mid-wicket."

Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Australia T20 squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.

India squad (first three ODIs): Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

ODI Fixtures

September 17: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

September 21: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

September 24: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

September 28: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

October 1: VCA Stadium, Nagpur

T20 Fixtures

October 7: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad