IND vs AUS: Who is Mahesh Pithiya, 'Ashwin's duplicate' roped in by Australia ahead of Tests against India?
Australia is training well for the upcoming Tests against India in India. To prepare well against the Indian spin attack, the visitors have roped in Indian spinner Mahesh Pithiya, who resembles the action of Ravichandran Ashwin.
FollowAustralia has roped Mahesh Pithiya, a 21-year-old spinner with an uncanny similitude to veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, to familiarise itself with the spin-friendly tracks of India as a part of its rehearsal for the forthcoming four-Test series against India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin may be a significant peril for Australia, as it has been in the hunt for a Test series win in India since 2004. Envisioning spin plays an essential role in the series; the visitors have asked for tailor-made wickets. They have also benefited from Pithiya's services and accustomed themselves to Ashwin's actions. Meanwhile, here's more about Pithiya.
Pithiya hails from Gujarat and plays domestic cricket for Baroda. He has played First-Class (FC) and Twenty20 (T20) games, yet he has yet to make his List-A debut. The off-break spinner has played four FC fixtures, bagging eight wickets in seven innings at an average of 30.25. He is also decent with the bat, scoring 116 in five at 29.00, including a half-century and a top score of 52.
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Intriguingly, Pithiya saw Ashwin bowl at the age of 11. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat, he barely had television (TV) access. He began idolising him when he someday watched the India ace in action versus the Windies in 2013. The youngster made his FC debut in December for Baroda and joined Australia's four-day training camp at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Ground near Alur after noticing his footage on social media, reports PTI.
Pritesh Joshi -- one of the bowlers delivering throw downs to the Aussie batters with the 'side-arm' assistance -- initially brought Pithiya to assistant coach Andre Borovec's attention. He also suggested that Mehrotra Shashank, a left-arm spinner who played FC cricket for Hyderabad, attend the camp.
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According to a cricket.com.au report, "Of all the stops Australia have pulled out to prepare for their trip to India, the most noticeable at their Test tour's first training session was the presence of a Ravichandran Ashwin duplicate. With facing spin the major focus on Thursday, Pithiya was the standout among the local 'netties', bowling tirelessly and virtually without a break, through the day as he troubled the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, who all had long batting sessions."
"While no spinner in the world can perfectly mimic the challenge Ashwin will pose in this series, facing Pithiya over the coming days will at least help the Australians come to terms with the visual cues of the world's top-ranked Test spin bowler. The Aussie batters were also tested out by a self-described throwdown specialist Khaleel Shariff, who has worked with numerous Indian Premier League teams and was known to coach Andrew McDonald and Vettori from their time at Royal Challengers Bangalore," the report added.
