Australia had hatched a super plan to counter India’s Ravichandran Ashwin threat. The Men in Yellow has called upon Mahesh Pithiya to help the Aussie batters counter Ashwin. Prithesh, a similar off-spinner to Ashwin was asked to join the Australian squad as a nets bowler. But the Baroda bowler decided to turn down the offer.
Mahesh Pithiya received a call from one of his friends who works for the Australian team to join the Aussie squad. The news was instantaneous after the BCCI announced the India Squad for World Cup. Initially, Axar Patel was involved in the 15-member squad, but following his injury, the veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was added to the mix.
This in turn caused haywire for other teams. Initially, all the teams had not taken Ashwin’s inclusion into account and have built strategies accordingly. But when the Men in Blue announced the change all the teams, especially Australia immediately contacted Prithesh, a similar off-spinner like Ashwin from Baroda to join their side in the nets.
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“It was certainly an exciting offer, but then, I am also part of the Baroda set-up for the domestic season that begins next month. So, I thought about it, spoke to our coach and informed them that it won’t be possible for me to join the camp this time around,” Pithiya told Sportstar.
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“As soon as the BCCI announced Ashwin as the replacement for Axar, I got the call. It is always exciting to work with international teams, but my priority is domestic cricket. I have come so far because of playing for Baroda and ahead of a long season, I thought I should focus on my game and not join the Australian team,” Pithiya informed Sportstar.
This however isn’t the first time that Pithiya has served as a nets bowler for the Australian side. Earlier he donned a similar role in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Opting for a local net bowler is not new and certainly, Australia isn’t the only team to opt for the technique. South Africa, the Netherlands, and Afghanistan too have opted for local bowlers.
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