IND vs BAN Tests: Indians start sweating it out for a long winter schedule

Team India began their practice session ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on September 13, 2024. Photo: X/@BCCI

ndia began its preparation for the two-Test series against Bangladesh at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. The opening game begins here on September 19, kick-starting a gruelling winter schedule in the longest format for Rohit Sharma’s men. In the next four months, India will play 10 matches against three opponents and look to seal its third straight World Test Championship final berth.

After the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur (Sept. 27 to Oct. 1), India will host New Zealand for a three-match series next month. In November, the team will travel to Australia for five Tests as it chases a hat-trick of series triumphs Down Under and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy it has held since 2017.

The entire squad, barring Sarfaraz Khan (busy in the Duleep Trophy), sweated it out in the middle for close to five hours under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff.

Newly appointed bowling coach and former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel had his first day at the office, keenly observing the session throughout the day.

In the morning session, Rohit, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill got going, batting on the practice pitches on either side of the main square.

Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin then joined for a lengthy session with the willow after their bowling stints. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, too, spent more than half an hour sharpening their batting skills.

There were almost a dozen net bowlers, including spinner Varun Chakravarthy. One of the training pitches was a black soil type with pronounced footmarks and the spinners operated primarily on this; the pacers bowled predominantly on the red soil surface at the other side of the square.

In the afternoon session, the second batch of K.L. Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel joined the action while Morkel monitored pacers Yash Dayal and Akash Deep.

Bangladesh is travelling to India following a historic 2-0 sweep of Pakistan in the latter’s backyard earlier this month, and will look to pose a stiff challenge to the hosts.