Muralitharan’s tips to Yusuf Pathan

Sri Lankan spin legend and Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan spent valuable time with hard-hitting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan at the centre pitch of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday.

The two were seen in animated discussions, with Muralitharan apparently showing a few off-spin tricks to Yusuf. The all-rounder will be playing for Sunrisers for the first time in the IPL after his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders.

The team was forced to have optional indoor practice on Sunday due to heavy rains. On Tuesday evening, SRH was without its captain Kane Williamson and other big names like Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. These players are expected to join the team shortly.

Sunrisers’ think tank comprising head-coach Tom Moody, Muralitharan and mentor V.V.S. Laxman was seen giving valuable tips to the cricketers, who went through the first real grind of the season at the venue.

Though dark clouds hovered over the venue and there was a brief spell of rain, the practice match, featuring a mix of mostly Sunrisers players and a few local players, continued.

Just after the warm-up session ended, Muralitharan was seen urging his younger son to bowl at him near the boundary line and to the pleasant surprise of the few present there, the youngster reminded in many ways his famed father with similar grip, run-up and bowling action!