Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia rope-in Ashwin’s duplicate from Baroda to prepare against the off-spinner

R
Ashwin
has
always
posed
the
biggest
of
challenges
to
the
visiting
teams
and
the
Aussies
are
well
and
truly
aware
of
the
threats
the
off-spinner
will
pose
on
the
spin-friendly
Indian
tracks.

With
21
scalps
under
his
belt,
Ashwin
was
the
second-highest
wicket-taker
in
the
2017
Border
Gavaskar
Trophy
played
in
India
after
compatriot
Ravindra
Jadeja.
India
won
the
series
2-1
at
home
and
even
won
two
consecutive
Test
series
in
Australia.

Australia
prepare
for
India
spin
challenge

To
prepare
against
the
Tamil
Nadu
tweaker,
the
Australian
team
management
has
roped
in
21-year-old
spinner
Maheesh
Pithiya
for
his
uncanny
resemblance
to
Ashwin.

Australia
–
who
are
currently
ranked
number
one
in
Tests
–
are
aiming
to
repeat
their
exploits
from
2004
–
when
they
last
won
a
Test
series
on
Indian
soil.

Mind
Games
Begin!
Australia
will
win
Test
series
on
‘fair
Indian
wickets’,
claims
Ian
Healy

The
first
match
will
begin
in
Nagpur
on
February
9.
Expecting
spin
to
play
a
major
role
in
the
four-Test
series,
the
visitors
have
opted
for
tailor-made
pitches
and
have
availed
the
services
of
Pithiya
to
get
accustomed
to
the
action
of
Ashwin.

Usman
Khawaja
Visa
Issue:
Australia
Batter
En
Route
To
India
For
Test
Series

“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,”
a
report
in
cricket.com.au
said.

“With
facing
spin
the
major
focus
on
Thursday,
Pithiya
was
the
standout
among
the
local
‘netties’,
bowling
tirelessly
and
virtually
without
break
through
the
day
as
he
troubled
the
likes
of
Smith,
Marnus
Labuschagne
and
Travis
Head,
who
all
had
long
batting
sessions.”

Who
is
Maheesh
Pithiya?

Pithiya,
interestingly,
didn’t
see
Ashwin
bowl
until
the
age
of
11.
Growing
up
in
Junagadh,
Gujarat
he
didn’t
have
access
to
TV
and
when
he
finally
watched
the
India
ace
in
action
against
the
West
Indies
in
2013,
he
started
idolising
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
by
Australia
after
seeing
his
footage
on
social
media.

It
was
Pritesh
Joshi
—
one
of
the
bowlers
giving
throw
downs
to
the
Australian
batters
with
the
‘side-arm’ aid
—
who
first
brought
Pithiya
to
the
attention
of
assistant
coach
Andre
Borovec.

Funny
how
ashwin
used
to
impersonate
harbhajan
growing
up,
now
there
are
many
ashwin
clones.
That
just
shows
the
impact
he
has
had
on
Indian
cricket.
Will
it
help
the
aussies
though?
What
if
he
changes
his
action
now?????

https://t.co/6Dsw8JaBAE

—
Abhinav
Mukund
(@mukundabhinav)

February
3,
2023

India
batter
Shreyas
Iyer
ruled
out
of
the
First
Test
against
Australia:
Who
Will
Replace
Him?

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,
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
report
said.

How
else
are
Aussies
preparing
for
India
Tests?

The
Aussie
batters
were
also
tested
out
by
a
self-described
throwdown
specialist
Khaleel
Shariff,
who
has
worked
with
numerous
Indian
Premier
League
(IPL)
teams
and
was
known
to
coach
Andrew
McDonald
and
Vettori
from
their
time
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).

(With
PTI
inputs)