TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Saturday was supposed to be a light intensity training day for the Indian cricket team ahead of the big game versus Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.
They were given an afternoon slot but to everyone’s surprise, the Men in Blue arrived early at the ICC Academy, and Virat Kohli arrived even earlier. Around 11am local time, there was an unusual buzz around the entrance of the training facility as Kohli got off a car with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and throw-down specialists Nuwan and Raghu. Most weren’t expecting an early arrival and the Indian team, too, came around 12pm local time, an hour earlier than the scheduled time.
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By the time everyone finished their warm-up and stretching routine, Virat Kohli was done batting after close to 45 minutes. The senior batter removed his gear and relaxed as his teammates got down to business. With the airpods plugged in, he put his feet up and had an ice pack on the left leg, possibly for some soreness. Chats with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill followed and Kohli was soon part of the team huddle where the captain gave the pep talk.
Everyone took turns to do their bit for close to two hours but intensity remained light due to intense heat. Rohit, Gill and KL Rahul had short hits while quicks Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami had it easy. While Rana had a hit with the bat, Shami strolled around and then went to the gym for a light session. Hardik Pandya spent time batting and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer faced throw-downs from batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
There was no visible pattern in their approach and everyone just did their bit to stay ready for the Sunday clash. It wasn’t a surprise to see the Men in Blue train the way they did as there wasn’t a lot of time between their game vs Bangladesh and Pakistan. Rohit Sharma and Co. didn’t train on Friday and wrapped up their session in under two hours on Saturday.
Pant down with viral fever
While all India players were in attendance, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant wasn’t part of the side’s training session. It was later revealed by vice-captain Shubman Gill that Pant was down with viral fever. The youngster is not part of India’s Playing XI plans at the moment as the management has continued to put their weight behind KL Rahul.
Rahul, who had a successful 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, did well in the third ODI versus England and stitched a match-winning partnership with Gill in the Champions Trophy game vs Bangladesh.
India were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 144/4 but Rahul and Gill ensured there were no more casualties and helped the side cross the finish line with six wickets in hand.