R Ashwin has always been the biggest challenge for visiting teams and the Aussies are well aware of the dangers the spinner will pose on the spin-friendly Indian courses. With 21 scalps to his credit, Ashwin was the second-best wicket-taker at the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy, held in India, after compatriot Ravindra Jadeja. India won the series 2-1 at home and even won back-to-back Test series of India vs Australia.
Australia prepares for India Spin Challenge with a plan
To prepare for the Tamil Nadu tweaker, Australia team management hired 21-year-old spinner Mahesh Pithiya commits its uncanny resemblance to Ashwin. Australia is currently ranked number one in test cricket. (Read Also: Shubman Gill Century takes India T20I series win over New Zealand)
They aim to repeat their track of 2004 when they last won a Test series on Indian soil. To prepare for the spinner from Tamil Nadu, the management of the Australian team has signed 21-year-old spinner Mahesh Pithiya, because of his uncanny resemblance to Ashwin.
Australia is currently number one in the test. They want to repeat their exploits of 2004 when they last won a Test series on Indian soil. The first game will kick off in Nagpur on February 9th. Expecting that Spin will play a major role in the four-round series, visitors have opted for tailored courses and enlisted Pithiya’s services to get used to Ashwin’s action. “De of all the stops Australia has been preparing for its trip to India, the most notable feature of the first training session of its Test tour was the presence of a duplicate Ravichandran Ashwin,” reads a report on cricket.com.au”With front spin as the main focus on Thursday, Pithiya stood out among the local ‘netties’ who bowled tirelessly and virtually non-stop throughout the day while worrying the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and others Travis Head, who had long batting sessions.”
Who is Mahesh Pithiya?
Interestingly, Pithiya didn’t see Ashwin Bowl until he was 11 years old. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat, he had no access to television and when he finally saw the Indian ace in action against West Indies in 2013, he began to idolize him. The youngster, who made his first-class debut for Baroda in December, has been flown in from Australia for the four-day training camp at the KSCA Ground in nearby Allure after his pictures were circulated online.
It was Pritesh Joshi – one of the bowlers who bowl Australian batsmen with the help of the ‘side arm’ – who first caught the eye of Pithiya assistant coach Andre Borovec. He also arranged a camp for Mehrotry Shashank, a left-handed spinner who played first-class cricket in Hyderabad. In the coming days, this will at least help Australians accept visual cues from the best test driver in the world,” reads the report.
If not, how is the Australian team preparing for tests in India?
Self-proclaimed football specialist Khaleel Shariff has worked with many Indian Premier League (IPL) teams and is known as the coach of Andrew McDonald and Vettori since he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore The other tests are in New Delhi (17-21 Feb), Dharamsala (1 Mar 5) and Ahmedabad (9-13 Mar).
