Mahesh Pithiya of Gujarat rose to fame overnight when the visiting Australian team hired him as their net bowler. Due to the similarities between his bowling motion and that of Ravichandran Ashwin, he was called to the Australian camp. When the young boy met his hero, Ravichandran Ashwin, at Tuesday’s practice for India, he admitted to asking for his blessings.
Mahesh Pithiya was added to the Australian team as a net bowler in an effort to neutralize the threat posed by Ravichandran Ashwin, the best bowler in India. Since bowling to the Australian batsmen in the nets, the relatively unknown cricketer, who comes from a working-class background, has become the talk of the town.
The small boy was beaming with pride after getting to meet Ashwin on Tuesday since he is a tremendous fan. He admitted talking briefly with the seasoned Indian bowler when he inquired about his bowling strategy against the guests. Pithiya stroked Ashwin’s feet and even received a thank-you thumbs-up from Virat Kohli.
“I had got Smith out at least six times in the nets on the first day and today I got blessings from my idol (Ashwin). 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,” Pithiya said to The New Indian Express.
The aspiring cricketer expressed his joy at playing for the top-ranked Test team in the world. He has constantly bowled at Australia’s Steve Smith and has even been successful in getting rid of him a few times in practice. Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon, who assisted Pithiya in gripping the ball and taught him the finer points of spin bowling, gave him words of encouragement.
“It has been amazing to work with this Australian side. My job is to mainly bowl to Steve Smith in the Australia nets. He didn’t ask me to bowl anything specific. Lyon first asked me to show my grip and explain what I do while rolling my fingers. He then explained how I can get more revs (rotation) on the ball and also how my front leg (left) should land. He told me to have confidence in my ability,” he added.
