A near full-strength Indian squad turned up for the second optional practice session at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Rohit Sharma and Co. dressed in their usual orange gear and trained for three hours under the lights 48 hours before their final league stage match of the 2023 ODI World Cup against the Netherlands.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, who was present in the session on Wednesday but did not bat or bowl, spent considerable time in the nets on Friday taking throwdowns and facing the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj.
Prior to his batting stint, the 36-year-old was also seen having a chat with head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar by one of the pitches at the venue. Post his stint, he was seen having a chat with fellow batting partner Shubman Gill.
Gill, who was present on Wednesday as well, had another stint in the nets, facing the likes of Mohammed Shami. Suryakumar Yadav, who indulged in a game of foot tennis with some of his other teammates, opted to take throwdowns by batting coach Vikram Rathour and some of the net bowlers and later had another stint with the paceman.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
The right-hander also showed off his trademark scoops and played the odd upper cur during his batting stint against the fast bowlers and the net bowlers.
Virat Kohli, who was also part of the group that played foot tennis, had a stint in the nets facing the spin of Ashwin and the pace of Thakur. The 35-year-old was seen using the long handle to good effect, carting the spinners for sixes.
After the experienced spin duo had finished their stint, it was time for Kuldeep Yadav-also absent on Wednesday-to have a bowling stint as he bowled to Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the nets, both from the over the wicket and around the wicket.
KL Rahul also spent some time in the nets, facing Shami and later taking throwdowns from Rathour. He later faced the spin of Ashwin, who had a relatively long stint in the nets. Prasidh Krishna was seen bowling to his fellow Karnataka teammate, later in the session.
Jasprit Bumrah was later seen bowling to Iyer at the nets and interestingly, in tandem with Krishna which could perhaps indicate the combination India might go with on Sunday. The only notable absentee from the session was Ishan Kishan, who was part of the group that trained in the afternoon sun on Wednesday.
Comments
0 comment