Jitesh, Dube sweat it out at India nets

With a slight breeze tempering the stifling heat in the bustling metropolis, India’s batters went about finding the middle of their willows while the bowlers tested the ideal lengths to hit at the ICC Academy nets on Monday evening. The Indian team has had a month-long break after a gruelling five-Test series in England, and although a few players have had game time in the Duleep Trophy and the local T20 leagues, it is unusual for them to be away from the intensity of international cricket for this long.

If clues had to be gleaned from the practice session with two days to go for India’s opening encounter against United Arab Emirates, the fact that Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube were among the first lot of batters along with Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya – they were later joined by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill — seemed instructive. Jitesh and Dube went on to bat for more than an hour, alternating between throwdowns, pace and spin. Sanju Samson, who is in a battle with Jitesh for the wicketkeeper’s slot, cooled his heels for much of the session before facing the net bowlers towards the end.

Among the aspects that the Indian think-tank will mull over is the combination of the bowling department. In India’s flawless run to the Champions Trophy crown in Dubai in March, it went with just the one specialist seamer and four spinners towards the business end with Hardik playing the role of the second seamer. Here, it has to decide whether to opt for two or three spinners.

“When the Champions Trophy was played, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel told the media on Monday. “I believe there’s quite a bit of grass covering on the square. It’s going to be crucial to find a quick understanding about the conditions and how the wicket is going to play.”