Fitness mantra for Indian team
Feb. 9: With less than 10 days to go for the World Cup, the full 15-member Indian team came together for the first time for a relaxed workout at the National Cricket Academy, here on Wednesday.
Having played the ODI series in South Africa minus a few regulars, this was the first time in many months that a full-strength squad was on view. The impromptu session commenced with the focus on warming up for the bigger battles ahead.
The session began at the KSCA ‘B’ ground with a customary football game, which went on for 40 minutes before the cricketers played a rugby-style game with a ‘rocket ball’. The emphasis was clearly on fitness, with those from the South Africa series coming back after a well-deserved 15-day break. The key batsmen in the squad — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir — all three recovering from injuries, also went through the paces and came out unscathed. Sehwag, who is coming off a shoulder injury that he had been carrying for some time, was the first to pad up for throws from coach Gary Kirsten, who had arrived in the city early on Wednesday.
Sehwag seemed to be in no discomfort as he batted for a while. Virat Kohli chose to have a hit on the cement track. Among the bowlers, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel bowled under the watchful eye of bowling consultant Eric Simons. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh chose to sharpen his batting skills along with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina.
On Thursday, the camp will hit top gear, with a full-fledged net session in the morning. Tendulkar was the only one not to have had a hit on Wednesday, with the master batsman opting to take some rest.
The wickets at the NCA had a tinge of grass but Kirsten has asked them to shave it off, making it a flat deck, akin to the conditions that the World Cup will throw up.
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