Bangalore: In order to deal with Ravichandran Ashwin’s spin in the Test cricket series against India, the Australian team has used a bowler like Ashwin in the nets training.
Australian cricket team is touring India. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series of 4 Test cricket matches between the two teams will begin on the 9th in Nagpur. For this, Australian team players are engaged in intensive training in Bengaluru.
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to be a big threat for Australia, who have not won a Test series on Indian soil since 2004. With spin likely to play a major role in the 4-Test series, Australia have made major changes to their training regime to suit.
Australia’s batsmen have been preparing a spin-friendly pitch at the KSCA ground in Alur where they have been training Mahesh Pithia, a 21-year-old spinner who can bowl like Ashwin, in the nets.
In this regard, the Australian Cricket Board said on its website, “Most noticeable in the first practice session of the India tour was the presence of a ‘copy’ of Ravichandran Ashwin. Mahesh Pithia stood out among the local net bowlers as he focused on counter-spin. Mahesh Pithia’s delivery troubled batsmen including Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschein and Travis Head. As a result, he bowled almost without a break.
Pithia did not see Ashwin bowl until she was 11 years old. Pithia saw Ashwin’s bowling only during the match against West Indies in 2013. After this he started loving his bowling more.
Pithia made his debut for the Baroda team in the first-class cricket tournament last December. A video has been circulating on social media claiming that his bowling is similar to that of Ravichandran Ashwin. Knowing this, Pritesh Joshi, one of the throw down bowlers for the Australian team, brought it to the attention of assistant coach Andre Borovec. Based on this, Pythia has been invited to bowl in net practice.
