Overcast skies and hazy weather welcomed the Indian team as it hit the ground on Wednesday afternoon for a training session ahead of the first ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium.
One of the floodlights had to be turned on as about seven to eight players - under the watchful eyes of batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey - sweated it out in the optional session.
With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the first ODI due to family commitments, Hardik Pandya will be leading the team and he spent quite a while in the nets, while discussing a thing or two with the support staff.
Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja - who were part of the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad - skipped the training, along with head coach Rahul Dravid.
Shreyas Iyer, who complained of lower-back pain on the second day of the Ahmedabad Test, has been ruled out of the ODI series, and in his absence, the batting department will rely heavily on Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, who had a long session. The selectors are unlikely to name a replacement for Iyer for now.
This will be the fifth time that India and Australia will clash at the Wankhede Stadium, out of which the Aussies won on three occasions - the last being a convincing win in January, 2020.
On a surface that appears to be flat, the batters would have the edge, but the bowlers from both the teams, would be hoping to make some early inroads. While Axar Patel was missing out on action, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal bowled to Suryakumar and Ishan
Comments
SHARE