Australia get ‘Ashwin duplicate’ to train ahead of Test series against India | Cricket News

BENGALARU: Australia they joined the rope Maheesh Pithiyaa 21-year-old spinner with an uncanny resemblance to Ravichandran Ashvinto train on friendly runs as part of their preparation for the upcoming Test series against India.
Off-spiner Ashwin could prove to be a major threat to Australia, who have not won a Test series in India since 2004.

Expecting spin to play a large part in the four Test series, the visitors opted for tailor-made shots and enlisted the services of Pithiya to get used to Ashwin’s action.
The four Test series starts in Nagpur on 9 February.
“Of all the stops Australia made in preparation for the trip to India, the most noticeable during the first training session of their test tour was the presence of a Ravichandran Ashwin duplicate,” said a cricket report. com.au.
“With front spin taking center stage on Thursday, Pithiya was the best of the local ‘netties’, bowling tirelessly and with virtually no break through the day as he unsettled the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne And Travis headwho have all had long batting sessions”.

Pithiya curiously did not see Ashwin bowling until he was 11 years old. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat, he didn’t have access to TV and when he finally saw India’s ace in action against West Indies in 2013, he started idolizing him.
The youngster, who made his first-class debut in December for Baroda, was flown in for the four-day training camp at the KSCA Ground in nearby Alur, Australia, after seeing footage of him on social media.
Was Pritesh Joshi – one of the bowlers who delivered bowls to Australian batsmen with the help of the ‘side arm’ – which first brought Pithiya to the attention of assistant manager Andre Borovec.
He also arranged for Mehrotra Shashank, a left arm spinner who played first class cricket for Hyderabad to attend the camp.

“While no spinner in the world can perfectly mimic the challenge Ashwin will pose in this series, tackling Pithiya over the next few days will at least help the Aussies come to terms with the visual cues from the world’s best spin bowler,” said the report said .
“Even the Australian batsmen have been tested by a self-proclaimed hurling specialist Khaleel Shariffwho has worked with numerous Indian Premier League teams and was known to coach Andrew McDonald and Vettori since his days at Royal Challengers Bangalore.”
The other Tests will be played in New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).