Tasmania recruit ambidextrous teenaged spinner

Tasmania have unveiled two interstate recruits for their men's contract list for next season including an Indian-born ambidextrous teenager.

Nivethan Radhakrishnan, an 18-year-old allrounder who has grown up in Sydney, will make the move to Hobart after earning his maiden professional contract with the Tigers for the 2021-22 summer.

Joining him on the rookie list is Brad Hope, a 21-year-old seam-bowling allrounder who won the Olly Cooley Medal as Western Australia's leading Premier Cricket performer last season having taken 41 wickets at an average of 15 and amassed 913 runs at 54.

Hope spent two years on WA's rookie list and played a solitary Sheffield Shield game, against NSW, in February 2019 while he also hit an unbeaten half-century against the touring Pakistanis for the Cricket Australia XI later that year.

Radhakrishnan is the only known male player in the Australian pathway who can bowl with both hands. Naturally a right-armer, he bowls off-breaks with his dominant hand but can also bowl orthodox spin with his left. 

Tantalisingly for the Tigers, the former Australia Under-16 representative is also a capable (left-handed) batter having opened for NSW Premier Cricket semi-finalists Sydney University last summer.

Radhakrishnan was born in India but moved to Sydney when he was 10 and harbours dreams of representing Australia.

"Brad and Nivvi are both really exciting young cricketers, and we are thrilled that they are coming to join the Tigers program and progress their careers here in Tasmania," said Tigers coach Jeff Vaughan.

Former Test batter Alex Doolan had already announced his retirement, while pacemen Tom Rogers and Alex Pycecroft along with rookies Keegan Oates and Jack White have been omitted from the Tasmania squad.

But it is a largely settled group that will turn out for the Tigers this season, with key players like Jake Doran, Jackson Bird, Jordan Silk and Beau Webster all signing contract extensions.

Comprehensive Shield victories over Western Australia and finalists New South Wales in their last two first-class games of the season saw Tasmania rise to fourth in the standings, 3.4 points off a berth in the competition final.

They were also in with a chance at making the Marsh One-Day Cup final heading into their final match of the season, but suffered a double-bonus point thrashing at the hands of WA to also finish fourth in the 50-over competition.

"It's a really great group of players we've been building here at the Tigers," said Vaughan. "We were really pleased – particularly with the second half of the season.

"We were fighting for spots in finals right up until the end, and ended up missing out on the Shield final by just three points, and with the one-day competition, we were in the hunt there almost right until the end, with it coming down to that final game.

"We don't feel we need to drastically change our personnel or our processes – it's just about fine tuning a few bits of pieces and continuing to put in the work."

Gabe Bell, Caleb Jewell, Sam Rainbird, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, along with rookies and Jarrod Freeman and Iain Carlisle, have also penned new deals.

2021-22 Tasmania men's contract list

In: Brad Hope, Nivethan Radhakrishnan

Out: Alex Doolan, Keegan Oates, Alex Pyecroft, Tom Rogers, Jack White

Squad: Tom Andrews, Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, Jarrod Freeman (rookie), Brad Hope (rookie), Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Mitch Owen (rookie), Tim Paine (CA contract), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (rookie), Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk, Mac Wright, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster