Subhayan Chakraborty in Melbourne
The atmosphere around the Melbourne Cricket Ground was electric on Christmas eve as the Indian team had their final training session before the highly-anticipated Boxing Day Test against Australia. It felt like festive season, which it indeed was, with around a thousand fans circling the open practice area at the ‘G. The interaction between the Indian players and fans was a mixture of love and irritation today; some players were annoyed by the unnecessary hooting, while others, including captain Rohit Sharma, took time for selfies and autographs.
“Guys, I’m trying to practice. Please don’t make unnecessary noise,” a visibly irked Virat Kohli talked back to the fans, sending a clear message as some shouted and demanded, “cover drive maarke dikhao, shot…shot…shot (show us a cover drive)”. The players, including Kohli, appreciated the cheers but were frustrated when fans demanded specific shots.
“Pull marke dikhao na, (play a pull)”, another fan shouted when Rohit was trying to find his rhythm. “You want a six? Let me practice,” the India captain responded. Akash Deep dismissed KL Rahul while fans were continuously shouting, prompting Kohli to intervene again: “Guys, he’s trying to train. Please don’t shout.”
The MCG nets are designed in such a way that the area where fans and the media stand is only about 10-15 metres elevated; thus, conversations from above are clearly audible to those inside the nets. Due to this, there were numerous instances where Indian batters looked up, disturbed by the shouting. This had previously led to the Indian players expressing their displeasure during an open nets session in Adelaide arranged by Cricket Australia.
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“You know, net sessions are very private, and this was the first time I’ve seen so many people during a nets session. When you’re training, when you’re practicing, there are a lot of conversations that happen, and those conversations are very private. We don’t want anyone to hear those conversations. It’s as simple as that because there’s a lot of planning involved,” Rohit had commented on the open nets session. Following the complaints, some of the planned public net sessions for Team India were cancelled.
However, not all fans faced the brunt of those disruptive chants. After the session, Rohit took time to sign autographs. One female fan kept shouting: “Rohit, Shubman Gill ko bula do na please” (Rohit, please call Shubman Gill).” Hearing this repeatedly, Rohit replied: “Arey, kaha se bulau (how would I call Shubman)” and then asked the Indian media team if Gill was still around, only to learn that the young batsman had already left. Rohit then signed a few jerseys and mini bats before disappearing into the tunnel. Indians are known for their ‘jugaad’ and that was on display at the MCG nets as one fan tied a knot around a cap and pushed the rope along with the cap near the exit gate to get it signed by the ‘Hitman’, which he did before tying the knot back as the fans pulled the rope up in jubilation.
Meanwhile, deliberations are ongoing within the Indian think-tank about potentially selecting two spinners for the Boxing Day Test. With temperatures expected to soar to 40 degrees Celsius on Day 1, the pitch, covered with a 6-millimeter layer of grass, will bake similarly to what occurred in Perth.
This might see Nitish Kumar Reddy making way for Washington Sundar. Despite Reddy’s solid performances with the bat, the strategy of horses for courses might be employed with the series at 1-1. Washington was active at the nets, batting and bowling, facing Jasprit Bumrah, Reddy and throwdown specialists for about 30 minutes. Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, focused on simple throwdowns after his bowling session.
“We are certainly considering the weather factor and all of that. We will see what’s best. I haven’t seen the wicket today, but whatever we need to do to make the best possible XI in these conditions, we will do that, whether it’s playing an extra spinner or not,” Rohit stated, hinting at a potential line-up adjustment.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has scored 0, 0, 24, 4, and 4 not out, besides his 161 in Perth, has struggled against Mitchell Starc. He spent over two hours in the nets, but specifically asked left-arm throwdown specialist Nuwan to challenge him, preparing for Starc’s bowling.
Rohit Sharma batted for around 40 minutes, mainly facing throwdowns, playing some cracking drives and pulls, but played only two strokes in his last 20 minutes, and left the rest, focusing on regaining form. Interestingly, he also faced the new ball, possibly indicating a return to opening at the MCG, which might push Rahul back to the middle order.
“I think who bats where is something we need to figure out within ourselves,” Rohit said in the press conference. “It’s not something I should discuss at every press conference. Whatever it takes for our team to look good or give us the best chance to succeed, we’ll do that.”
India and Australia are tied at 1-1 with the last two Tests of the five-Test series to be played in Melbourne and Sydney.
Also Read: “Just another day for me”: Sam Konstas unfazed ahead of Boxing Day Test