Indian spin bowling coach of Australian team denied Pakistani visa: Report

Sridharan Sriram, a former India international who is currently the spin bowling coach of the Australian team, will not be travelling to Pakistan because he could not procure a visa.

According to The Age, Sridharan could not get a Pakistan visa in time because of his nationality. "Indian passport holders find it much harder to obtain visas in Pakistan, given the fractious history between the countries," the report in the Australian publication mentioned.

Australia have three spinners - Nathan Lyon, Mitch Swepson and Ashton Agar - in their squad as they prepare for a Test series starting from March 4, their first tour of the country since 1998. Since 2013, Australia have never travelled to the subcontinent without specialist spin bowling coaches.

Sriram will only able to pass on information to them before or after play and not during the day's play, as mandated by ICC rules. He will have to talk to them on spin bowling strategies only after play is over.

Sriram, who played ODIs for India from 2000 to 2004, has been part of the Australian coaching setup in a full-time capacity over the last years after having initially aided them before the 2016 World T20 in India. He remains contracted to Cricket Australia and is expected to join the team when they travel to Sri Lanka in June.