India vs West Indies: Mohammad Azharuddin gives pep talk to Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant ahead of 1st T20I

Team India is gearing up for the 1st game of the three-match T20I series against West Indies. The series opener will be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. On Thursday , when Indian cricketers took the field for their practice session, they were accompanied by none other than former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin. The 56-years-old was spotted giving some pep talk to the Indian cricketers.

Last week, Mohammad Azharuddin was appointed as the President of Hyderabad Cricket Association. The veteran has a big responsibility of restoring to improve the condition of domestic cricket in his state. He played for Team India in 99 Tests and 334 ODIs between 1985 and 2000 before he was handed with a ban for suspected match-fixing. However, his ban was lifted in 2012 by the court but the BCCI had not officially lifted the ban.

Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant got some tips from Mohammad Azharuddin

The former Indian player Mohammad Azharuddin is known as one of the best batsmen of his time and his ability to play pull shots against bowlers was unmatchable. During the practice session, India’s opener Rohit Sharma, who is known as the master of playing the same stroke, was spotted taking lessons from Azharuddin.

Later, the young Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant also joined his teammate and it looked like he was discussing with Azharuddin, who is known as one of the best fielders in Indian cricket history, on how to improve his keeping skills. After having a discussion, Pant was spotted facing the throwdowns from Azharuddin.

During, the practice session Virat Kohli and Co were spotted working hard ahead of the 1st T20I. However, it looked quite strange that Shreyas Iyer came out to bat in the nets quite late and practiced alongside Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

As far as Team India selection is concerned for the series opener against West Indies, there is doubt over which player will be picked by the team management between Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer. Going with the recent records of selection, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has always come up with surprising playing XI, an aspect because of which he has been criticized by the Indian fans and former cricketers on a few occasions. Team India is expected to leave no stone unturned while going into the final T20I series for the year starting on December 6.

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