Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, is very wary about Pakistan’s top fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, and Dinesh Karthik is likely to be chosen over fellow wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. In preparation for the crucial match against Pakistan on Sunday, October 23, Team India held their first practice session in Melbourne today.
In the nets, Rohit faced a lot of left-arm paces but remained cautious the entire time. Karthik, on the other side, gained some useful experience in both hitting and wicketkeeping.
There were only five potential first-choice players present at the optional practice, so it was not a practice session studded with stars. Karthik was the first to enter the nets while Deepak Hooda, a part-time off-spinner, and left-arm orthodox Axar Patel began rolling their arms in a warm-up exercise.
The batter from Tamil Nadu was quickly followed by Rohit, who stood his ground against left-armer Arshdeep Singh, comeback kid Mohammed Shami, throwdown experts, and neighborhood net bowlers. Their goal was to place their delivery in the good-length zones that had been specified. Another Punjabi southpaw bowled at the skipper’s body as Arshdeep removed it from him.
Rohit did not throw it away even though he thought it looked awful. Balls thudded into his left pad as they beat his outside edge, but the 35-year-old never once attempted to hit his way out of difficulty.
The occasional yorker was also delivered by Arshdeep, and one of them even caused head coach Rahul Dravid to applaud. It was a mockup of how the powerplay on October 23 may appear. Dravid kept a tight eye on everything while Paras Mhambrey, the bowling coach, made the decisions.
Karthik, with whom Rohit was continuously joking, faced the spinners in the neighboring net. For him, the longer length was designated. His main targets were Axar and Hooda, and a local leg-spinner helped him get ready for Pakistan’s Shadab Khan. The 37-year-old kept jabbing at the deep square leg and imagined cow corner while standing on one knee.
There was an exchange 30 minutes following the metronomic deed. Rohit shifted one net to his left to engage in throwdowns as Karthik swapped nets to confront the speedsters. He was keeping an eye out for the left-armer even there.
The Indian captain has been without runs for a while, but today Rohit was serious. He was out with Dravid for a lengthy conversation shortly after his hit while evaluating his colleagues. But he was still armored. Why? Considering that he would shortly return for a second tenure. This time, he simply used the long handle and throwdowns. In contrast, he used tremendous caution when facing left-arm bowlers.
Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj, the stand-by bowler also entered the thinly populated practice area. As Hooda warmed up against the local spinners, the pair bowled to him. Thakur, who may fill in for Hardik Pandya, if necessary, also improved his batting technique by unleashing his powerful heaves. Plays and misses occurred, but whenever he hit, the ball appeared to rocket off his willow.
Before being the last man out of the nets to end the two-hour session, Dinesh Karthik, who was also present at the Rohit-Dravid meeting, practiced wicketkeeping..
The List of India T20 World Cup matches
October 23: India vs Pakistan – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne – 1.30 pm IST
October 27: India vs Netherlands – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney – 12.30 pm IST
October 30: India vs South Africa – Perth Stadium, Perth – 4.30 pm IST
November 2: India vs Bangladesh – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide – 1.30 pm IST
November 6: India vs B1 – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne – 1.30 pm IST
