Cast to left hand side

[tcak via Digitalmars-d-learn]

In some cases, I need to cast right hand side expression to left 
hand side. While it looks/feels simple for basic data types, it 
requires long lines with duplication when flexible code is 
desired to be written.

Example:

int a = 7;
byte b;

b = cast( byte )a;


When I want to create a system where data types should match each 
other automatically, my code turns into this.

b = cast( typeof( b ) )a;


Alright, in my use cases, variable names "a" and "b" are long 
with module names mostly.

Is there any way to cast to type of left hand side variable the 
right side?