If Thursday’s practice was about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s batting at nets at the Optus Stadium in Perth, barely 12 hours after their arrival, Friday morning’s training focused on fielding and fitness drills.
Both the former captains had an intense session — from sprints to catching practice — during the nearly three-hour session in the morning.
Under the probing eyes of fielding coach T. Dilip, the players sweated it out to make sure that they would be ready for ground fielding on the long boundaries at the Australian grounds.
While Australia have been handicapped by fitness issues and the absence of some of their regulars, including captain Pat Cummins, the Shubman Gill-led team is not willing to take any chances. Mitch Starc can prove to be a handful in the conditions and Travis Head has always been a master performer against India in all formats.
Kohli, who will turn 37 next month, was the most passionate on the field during
the fielding drills and his intense and contagious energy seemed to rub off on the youngsters in the team.
Rohit spent a lot of time discussing what seemed like strategy and game-plan with Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir. He may have been removed as captain, but there was no dearth of commitment on his part when it came to formulating the team’s approach ahead of Sunday’s opener.
The pitch looked a bit brownish, suggesting it could help the strokeplayers in the early stages with good carry and bounce.
India are likely to continue with Rohit and Gill as openers with KL Rahul doing the job of keeper-batter. However, it remains to be seen if Harshit Rana will be the third pacer alongside Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence.
The think-tank will also have the option of playing Prasidh Krishna.