As the team bus rolled into the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and gradually came to a halt amidst tight security, the Indian team disembarked and hit the ground running on Monday.
In what was Rohit Sharma-led India’s first training session ahead of the first Test against England starting on Thursday, a seemingly relaxed unit, barring Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, assembled at 9:30 AM and went full throttle in a session that lasted for three hours.
The first 20 minutes saw head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit engage in a long chat while the rest of the unit was involved in the warm-up drills and the support staff unpacking the training kits that would be put into full effect. The team started the session with the customary jog, as Kuldeep Yadav was the first to go around the park, followed by wicketkeeper-batter K.S. Bharat. Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel then set off, with batting coach Vikram Rathore accompanying the duo as veteran spinner R Ashwin along with star batters Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, joined the pack.
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Local hero Mohammed Siraj had a feel of the grass at his home ground as Rathore, with a few words, marched off the unit to the nets arena. With the players gearing up for an intense session, Dravid walked up for a pitch inspection on what seemed to be a straw-coloured pitch, a surface that promises to aid spinners.
The Gruelling Nets Session
At the nets, first-up were Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ashwin, with the opener facing throwdowns from Rathore while the off-spinner faced slow left-arm spinners, smothering the ball and gauging the turn. After a brief period, Ashwin began rolling his arms, first by warming up by bowling to Jaiswal and then joining Axar with Rohit on strike.
The India captain began his session by facing both left and right-arm spinners, along with a bit of leg spin from a net bowler. However, the contest began when Bumrah started to steam in, gradually settling into his rhythm and Rohit batting assuredly. With two spinners and the lead pacer in full flow, Rohit, taking an off-stump guard, pulled out some sumptuous drives and fierce pulls while exhibiting compact defence. After a while, however, Axar got one to rip off the surface as the ball clipped the top of the off-stump. The mood was light, but the intensity was high.
While KL Rahul arrived with his arsenal, at the adjacent net, fielding coach T. Dilip set up a small wicket-keeping laboratory where Dhruv Jurel, who received a maiden Test call-up, was put to the test. The katchet training pad was in place, and the 23-year-old exhibited sharp reflexes by watching the ball closely and taking some catches, often getting praised by the support staff.
At the far end, Kuldeep was facing some serious chin music from Siraj, with the pacer being relentless by delivering some thunderbolts. But the wrist spinner was up to the task and tackled the bouncers with aplomb. Meanwhile, Rohit and Jaiswal made their way to Gill and Rahul, and both batters were solid with some lovely strokes through the off-side and down the wicket. Such was the challenge that the faster Siraj bowled, the better Gill drilled him straight down the ground.
Mukesh Kumar was fast and fresh, and Bharat found the pacer too hot to handle. The fast bowler kept breathing down the neck of the batter, beating the outside edge multiple times as the red cherry thudded into the green nets. After taking a small break, Rohit returned for a second hit, this time facing the local spinners with an emphasis more on ground shots rather than going over the top and displaying some deft cuts.
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Jurel, under the helmet this time with the bat, coped with a serious blow on his right hand while trying to defend a rising delivery. However, after receiving treatment, he continued to play some exquisite drives that impressed the batting coach. While the rest were back in the dressing room after a gruelling session, Axar was keen on polishing his batting skills and had Gill for company.
The players made their way out, and Dravid, having monitored all this while, bowled some gentle medium-pace deliveries, targetting a stump, and after a while was the last man to walk out in what was a solid nets workout for Team India.
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