‘I touched his feet’ – Ravichandran Ashwin’s ‘duplicate’ reveals how his idol wanted to know about his bowling to Australians in nets

Mahesh Pithiya, the young prodigy from Baroda, has been making the news in recent times due to similarities in his bowling style with Ravichandran Ashwin. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the 21-year-old was selected to be Australia’s net bowler.

Speaking about his preparations with the Kangaroos, Pithiya said that he dismissed Steve Smith 5-6 in the nets on the first day itself. He also spoke about the first interaction with his Idol, Ashwin, in Nagpur ahead of the first Test match of the series.

“Maine pahle din hi Steve Smith ko 5 se 6 baar out kiya thaa nets mein (I had got Smith out at least six times in the nets on the first day),” Pithiya said in an interaction with the PTI. “Today I got blessings from my idol. I have always wanted to bowl like him. When I met him as he was entering the nets, I touched his feet and sought his blessings. He hugged me and then asked what exactly am I bowling to the Australians.”

“Virat Kohli also smiled at me and gestured thumbs up and wished me luck,” he added.

I don’t bowl carrom ball or doosra: Mahesh Pithiya

When asked about the variations he brings to the table, Pithiya revealed that, unlike Ashwin, he did not bowl the carrom ball or the doosra. He added that the off-break was his stock delivery and that he had developed a backspin delivery as his variation.

“No, I don’t bowl carrom ball or doosra. My stock ball is off the break and another ball that I have myself developed is one that has a bit of backspin in it.  But I bowl that in white-ball cricket,” Pithiya said.

As for the series, the Vidarbha Stadium in Nagpur will host the first match from the 9th of February. The team led by Rohit Sharma began their preparations in Nagpur itself, while Australia practised in Allur before making their way to the city in Maharashtra.