Australia have signed Ravichandran Ashwin lookalike 21-year-old spinner Mahesh Pithia to coach on spin-friendly pitches in preparation for the upcoming Test collection in opposition to India.
Off-spinner Ashwin might show to be a giant menace for Australia, who haven’t gained a Test collection in India since 2004.
Expecting spin to play a serious function within the four-Test collection, the guests have opted for tailored pitches and availed the companies of Pithia to get accustomed to Ashwin’s motion.
The four-Test collection begins in Nagpur from February 9.
A report in cricket.com.au stated, “Of all the stops Australia have pulled out in preparation for their trip to India, the most noticeable at the first training session of their Test tour was the presence of a duplicate of Ravichandran Ashwin “
With the key concentrate on Thursday being to counter spin, Pithia was the standout among the many native ‘netties’, tireless and nearly with no break all day as he troubled the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, whose Had lengthy batting seasons. , Interestingly, Pithia didn’t see Ashwin bowl till he was 11 years previous. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat, he had no entry to TV and when he lastly noticed the India ace in opposition to the West Indies in 2013, he began idolizing him. His.
The teen, who made his first-class debut for Baroda in December, was despatched by Australia for a four-day coaching camp on the KSCA floor in close by Alur after his footage was seen on social media.
It was Pritesh Joshi – one of many bowlers who delivered throw-downs to the Australian batsmen with ‘side-arm’ help – who first introduced Pithia to the eye of assistant coach Andre Borovec.
He additionally organized for left-arm spinner Mehrotra Shashank, who performed first-class cricket for Hyderabad, to attend the camp.
“No spinner in the world can completely duplicate Ashwin’s challenge in this series, but facing Pithia in the coming days will at least give the Aussies visible signs of the world’s top-ranked Test spin bowler.” Coming alongside will assist.” stated the report.
The Australian batsmen have been additionally examined by Khaleel Sharif, a self-described throwdown specialist who has labored with a number of Indian Premier League groups and was recognized to teach Andrew McDonald and Vettori from his time at Royal Challengers Bangalore. ” Other Tests might be performed in New Delhi (17-21 February), Dharamsala (1-5 March) and Ahmedabad (9-13 March).
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
