Rishabh Pant accuses fielding coach T Dilip of favouritism; lots of sledging during India's practice session: Report
The Indian cricket team, which arrived in Headingley on Tuesday, got down to business as the players and coaching staff participated in the team's first proper practice session in Headingley ahead of the series opener against England on Friday. The team comes to Headingley on the back of two warm-up matches against England Lions and one intra-squad game, but irrespective of whatever fine-tuning at Canterbury and Beckenham, Leeds is where the players will be tested the most. Two practice sessions, one done and dusted with, and then onto the big one.
There's something about this team. Yes, three of Indian cricket's biggest superstars are missing, but the 18 players picked to do the job appear a lot more relaxed and entertained than usual. Perhaps it's the lack of baggage. Most of these players are young and low on experience – nothing better than a fresh start – which reflected as the players hit the ground running on Wednesday. Cricbuzz reported that India's practice session initially resembled a match of gully cricket as the players engaged in some heavy sledging and banters.
The session began with fielding coach T Dilip's direct hit challenge. For this, the players were grouped into three different teams. Dilip is one to always begin the proceedings with some light-hearted drills, which was evident in the players' demeanour. In fact, Rishabh Pant even accused Dilip of favouritism, saying 'Arre who toh lefty hai, usko left mein hi khada karoge'. But all in good spirits. A fun fight about the final scores capped off the drill. But it wasn't before some takeaways. Prasidh Krishna, Karun Nair and Kuldeep Yadav all nailed a couple of direct hits each.
Also Read: Shubman Gill to bat at No. 4 in Headingley Test, Rishabh Pant at 5; but where does that leave Karun Nair?
However, once that direct hit competition was over, the fun was replaced by seriousness. The batters took guard in the nets while bowlers marked their run-ups. First up were openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who took throwdowns before facing the fiery fast-bowling duo – and one that are likely to open the bowling for India, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Both India pacers looked in top gear. Bowling coach Morne Morkel has already informed just how quick, and in-rhythm Jasprit Bumrah has looked in during the intra-squad match, and today was just another extension of it.
After Gill and Jaiswal were done with their hitouts, in walked Shubman Gill and Pant, India's No. 4 and 5 for the Headingley Test as confirmed by the vice-captain himself. Karun Nair had his chance too, but was in for a rough time when he copped a blow to his abdomen from Prasidh. The impact of the ball was such that the hit left a red mark just below Nair's ribs. Thankfully, it was just a passing pain, which Nair laughed off.
Bumrah was once again a standout star during the nets. The Indian pace spearhead, who confirmed that he won't play all five Tests, proved once again exactly why he'll be missed dearly in the ones he skips. With the red Dukes ball in his hand, Bumrah emerged as a serious threat for his own teammates, making Jaiswal and Pant hope and jump. The one batter, however, who looked the most assured against Bumrah was India captain Gill, using his defence to negate the movements of the ball. His approach stood out because the rest of the batters, Sai Sudharsan and KL Rahul, found it difficult to cope against Bumrah's barrage of unplayable deliveries.
Outside of the players, England head coach Brendon McCullum and Morkel shared a warm embrace.
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