Australia’s batting line-up is getting restless in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, thanks to the masterful spin of India’s Ravi Ashwin.
With the first match set to take place in Nagpur from February 9-13, the visiting team has set up camp in Karnataka and are hard at work preparing for the spin-friendly pitches.
Despite their efforts, it seems that the Baggy Greens may be in for a tough time, with former India opener Wasim Jaffer claiming that Ashwin is already inside the heads of the Australian batters, just five days away from the start of the first Test.
The 36-year-old spinner is just one wicket away from reaching a remarkable 450 Test wickets, and Australia is bracing themselves for his impact.
Cricket Australia recently shared a clip from a practice session that showcased the team’s secret weapon – Maheesh Pithiya, a young Baroda star who bears a striking resemblance to Ashwin and has even been dubbed as “Ashwin’s Duplicate”. Maheesh, who has a similar bowling action to Ashwin, bowled to Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja to help the Aussie batters prepare for the challenge that Ashwin may pose during the tour.
Reports suggest that Maheesh left a lasting impression on Smith, stumping him twice and even clean-bowling him once. This news was met with congratulations from renowned figures in the cricket world, including former India opener, Wasim Jaffer. Jaffer claimed that Ashwin is already giving sleepless nights to the Aussie batters ahead of the first Test begins.
Will the Aussies be able to rise to the challenge and neutralize the threat posed by Ashwin? We’ll have to wait till February 9th.