Border Gavaskar Trophy: Couple of false alarms ring through Indian team nets session

Melbourne Cricket Ground. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A couple of false alarms rang through the Indian team nets session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday (December 22, 2024). Rohit Sharma and Akash Deep were both struck on their limbs while countering throwdowns in the outdoor practice arena. While Rohit dealt with a sore left knee and iced it for a while, Akash was hit on his hand but made light of the bruise.

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The skipper spent some time sitting with one leg stretched on a chair. He chatted with bowling coach Morne Morkel for a while before gingerly standing up. Later he ambled along, having a word with the last set of batters busy in the nets.

Earlier, when he walked into bat, a loud cheer emanated from the fans, who had gathered on the mezzanine floor and were gazing at the Indian players.

Akash, meanwhile, flexed his hands a bit, briefly placed an ice bag and later told the media, “The practice pitch is probably meant for white-ball cricket, the ball kept low at times. As for these minor injuries, these things happen at training, and there are no major concerns because of that. I am fine.”

If the climax of the training stint raised these injury worries, the beginning was all about fielding drills inside the MCG. The usual catches in the slips and high ones in the deep were all practised before the players moved to the nets outside. K.L. Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit and Rishabh Pant were the first set of batters and all had a long stint even as the blow on the knee forced the Indian captain to seek rest.

Importantly, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj linked up with their fellow seamers and bowled with gusto. The batters were always informed if the ball was new or old, and imaginary field settings were revealed. Gill was muscling his shots, Rohit tried to pull a few and one such endeavour had him missing the line and the ball hit the side of his left knee.

While the visiting captain rested, most of the others in the squad had their stints with the bat, including the tail. And it was Akash’s turn to suffer a niggle but he seemed fine. After a weekend of training, the Indian team will rest on Monday (December 22, 2024) while Pat Cummins and his men will commence their preparation for the fourth Test here from December 26.