After leveling the series against Australia, Team India is getting ready for the upcoming Sydney Test which starts from 7 January. Ajinkya Rahane & Co underwent an intense training session on Saturday to ensure a flawless performance on the field.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has posted a video on Twitter showing the players honing their throwing skills under the watchful eyes of coach R Sridhar. They randomly inserted the ball and threw it to the stumps that were part of their drilling.
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“New year. Renewed energy. How is it for josh?” BCCI wrote on Twitter.
Watch the video:
Ajinkya Rahane, future captain, will continue to lead the team in the absence of Virat Kohli, who has returned on paternity leave.
Meanwhile, left-back T Nataraj has been included in the Indian Test squad as a replacement for Umesh Yadav. The latter suffered a strain in his left calf muscle on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The BCCI has stated in a release that Yadav will not fully recover before the remaining two Test matches and that he has been excluded from the series.
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After a horrific performance in the first Test, which drew visitors for 36 in the second innings, India made an epic turnaround in Kohli and Mohammad Shami’s absence to win the Boxing Day Test on 29 December.
Team India Test Group: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Kum Beprah , Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan