Mahesh Pithania, who bowls like Ashwin, denies Australia’s request to join them ahead of IND vs AUS World Cup match – Reports

Gujarat local bowler Mahesh Pithania, who bowls like Ravichandran Ashwin, has reportedly denied Australia’s request to join them in the nets ahead of the India-Australia World Cup game. The five-time World Cup champions wanted to counter the off-spinner’s threat in their opening game by practising against him.

Pithania, who assisted Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, denied the request due to other commitments. Despite the Gujarat bowler's presence, Ashwin still managed to emerge as the leading wicket-taker in the five-match Test series with 25 scalps in five Tests.

Pithania told ANI on Sunday, October 1:

"I got the call from Pritesh Joshi, a sidearm specialist. He is with the Australian squad this time and helping them on nets. By the time R Ashwin joined the squad, he called me and said to pack my bags and join the Australia team at Chennai as they want you in the nets.

He continued:

"I declined the offer this time as the home season of cricket is coming ahead and I have to play. And this time I am busy in practice and other training, so I said no to them this time."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is hosting the Irani Cup. It will be followed by Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Ranji Trophy, respectively.

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Ravichandran Ashwin needs six more scalps to complete 150 wickets against Australia

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was included in India's squad for the World Cup at the last minute, has scalped 144 wickets in 48 matches across formats against the Aussies. He recently eclipsed legendary Anil Kumble for most wickets against the Kangaroos.

The 37-year-old scalped four wickets in two ODIs against the Aussies at home last month. He finished with his best ODI figures of 3/41 against them in the second ODI as David Warner, Josh Inglis, and Marnus Labuschagne failed to read the veteran spinner before losing their wickets.

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer enjoys a terrific record against Warner, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell in international cricket, having dismissed the trio 14, eight, and seven times, respectively. The senior spinner will now look to spin a web against the five-time champions in the World Cup.