Team Kohli-Rohit beat Team Ashwin-Pujara in India's fun practice drill

Returning back from the break, team India assembled at Durham ahead of their practice game against the Select County XI. Getting back to the grind, the Indian team has now started their training sessions wherein they are getting involved in some high-intensity drills. On Monday, the players were seen doing a unique and fun drill on the field under the fielding coach R.Sridhar.

The BCCI had uploaded a video on Twitter where the players were participating in the drill. A bit of fun and competition was brought in the activity to introduce some tussle. According to Sridhar, these games helps in boosting the spirit of the players and more importantly serves as a crucial way to improve agility and fitness. The activity was divided into teams wherein Virat and Rohit took the mantle of one side and Pujara and Ashwin led the other. Sridhar added that it resulted in tough competition and also some passionate debates.

“We had two teams, one was obviously Virat, Rohit and most of them in the one team and the other was completely taken over by Ashwin and Pujji so it was a tight competition. After some rolling backs of the scoreboard and some debates… eventually, Virat’s team took the competition with a 10-8 lead over the other team. Pujji and Ashwin were convinced they won, the scoreboard said 10-8 but those two were convinced that I cheated sided with the team which won,” Sridhar added.

R.Sridhar opens up on team India’s practice session

Fitness plays a crucial role in bringing performances on the field. One has often seen the Indian skipper Virat Kohli put light on the importance of staying fit to play at the best levels across formats. This makes room for high-level training and practice that helps to keep the players in the best shape ahead of any pivotal series.

Sridhar expressed his satisfaction with the practice sessions of the Indian team so far. Today was their third day at Durham, and on the last two days, the team did throwing and catching drills. Sridhar also added that this was further followed by the individual sessions for players on Sunday.

“This leg, I am extremely happy with the way we have started. On Day 1, we had inducted them with a lot of throwing and catching which was very satisfactory. It went well, there was no soreness the next morning. And yesterday we did a lot of one on one work with the players, talking to them, telling them what we need from them individually and how can they be a crucial part of the team in terms of fielding contributions. So we had a lot of individual drills tailored specifically for them.” Sridhar said