Picture Credit: Twitter
Mahesh Pithiya, the duplicate of Ravichandran Ashwin, who is an off spinner from Baroda, has declined the offer from Australia to be a net bowler for them once again, before the ODI World Cup 2023. The 21-year-old was invited to be the part of the Australian cricket team, just after Team India decided to bring in Ravichandran Ashwin into their squad for the flagship tournament, in place of Axar Patel, because his bowling action is quite similar to the veteran cricketer.
Notably, as per the reports, Mahesh Pithiya received a call from one of his friends, Pritesh Joshi, who has been working as a side-armer for Australia, in the build-up to the quadrennial spectacle. The Baroda cricketer was told to pack his bags to reach Chennai by October 4, the city where India and Australia are set to open their ODI World Cup 2023 campaign, but he consulted with the bowling coach of his Ranji Trophy team S Aravind, before deciding to not go.
Mahesh Pithiya said, “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.”
“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,” he added.
Moreover, Mahesh Pithiya was part of the Australian cricket team as the net bowler when they toured India for the four-match Test series earlier in 2023. Team India had won the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth successive time with a 2-1 margin, after the final Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ended in a draw.
