Kuldeep not easy to bat against, feels Aussie skipper Smith

Chennai, Sep 16 (IANS) Ahead of the five-match One-day International (ODI) series against India, starting here on Sunday, Australia skipper Steve Smith on Saturday said it won't be an easy task to read young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav.

"A few of our guys played against him (Kuldeep) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and he is a good young talent and can be difficult to pick at times," Smith told reporters here.

"He is someone who you have to watch a little bit closely. Hopefully we can put him under pressure early in his spell and try and take him for as many as we can," he added.

Kuldeep took four wickets on his Test debut against the Aussies in Dharamsala earlier this year.

The visitors have got a similar type of bowler -- K.K. Jiyas -- at the nets to be ready for him.

"He is a guy Sri (team consultant Sridharan Sriram) has organised to come down and bowl. They have got Kuldeep Yadav in their squad and he is likely to play. There is a chance to train against someone like that. There aren't too many in the world," Smith said.

Asked if the series would see a lot of runs being scored, Smith said: "We saw that the last time we came here in 2013 it was a run-fest where 350 was around par. It's difficult to say."

"Every ground is going to be different. I think it's about summing things up quickly at every ground. I couldn't tell you if it is going to be a run fest. It depends on the pitches."

Smith added that anyone from the top four will have to contribute big in order to win when quizzed if the bulk of the responsibility will rest on him.

"I think it's important for someone in the top four to go on and make a big score. I think we have the guys to do that. It's important in any country. We saw that the last time we came here in 2013 it was a run-fest where 350 was around par."

On his team combination, Smith said: "We have got a spinning all-rounder, we've got all-rounders that take pace off the ball and things like that. We have got a few different options but we will go in with what we think is best for the conditions."

"We're not going to name our team today. We're going to have a look again tomorrow and see what we think is the best (XI). There might be a bit of rain on Sunday as well. Gives us a chance to have a look at that and then we will be able to name our XI for Sunday," he said.