Who is Mahesh Pithiya, Australia's Pick to Tackle Ashwin's Spin Threat

The Australian squad has landed in Bengaluru to prepare for the forthcoming four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which begins on February 9 in Nagpur. The Australians are now training at the KSCA facility in Alur, Bengaluru.

The visitors have chosen a camp rather than a tour game and have recruited Junagadh's Mahesh Pithiya, a right-arm off-spinner whose action is similar to that of Indian off-spinner R Ashwin. Pithiya, who just made his debut for Baroda, is practicing with the Australian batsmen to assist them in combat Ashwin's spin-bowling skills in the vital Border-Gavaskar series.

Pithiya's action is interesting since it is natural, and he had not seen Ashwin bowl until he was 11 years old because his family did not have a television at the time. In Baroda, he drew the attention of the Pathan brothers Irfan and Yusuf and has since trained extensively with Yusuf Pathan. Pritesh Joshi, a throwdown expert from Baroda, invited him to bowl to Australian hitters.

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