NAGPUR: Ravichandran Ashwin ‘duplicate’ Mahesh Pithiya does not mind the attention he is getting and his quiet and unassuming presence is certainly endearing. He is only four first-class matches old, but the Australia team has made him a travelling net bowler. “I had got [Steve] Smith out at least six times in the nets on the first day,”

Mahesh told PTI as he stood in one corner watching his idol Ashwin go about his job in the nets. “Today, I got blessings from my idol. I have always wanted to bowl like him. When I met him as he (Ashwin) was entering the nets, I touched his feet and sought his blessings. He hugged me and then asked what exactly I was bowling to the Australians,” said Mahesh.