At least half an hour before anyone else arrived at the nets, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was spotted grinding it out with two throwdown specialists in a bid to regain his form ahead of the much-awaited Boxing Day Test against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting December 26. Not only Rohit but also players like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, who joined him later, focused on leaving balls that were anywhere outside the fourth stump channel. Leaving as many deliveries as possible was the flavour of the session.
Rohit hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat, scoring just 19 runs in three innings at an average of six. However, the veteran Indian batter is leaving no stone unturned to get back to his best. In previous sessions, Rohit looked completely out of touch and struggled to time the ball. On Saturday, his body language appeared much improved. There was a smile on his face as he communicated with the throwdown specialists on what kind of deliveries to bowl. Interestingly, Rohit also had a slightly open-chested stance. His timing was much better as he executed drives and flicks.
The extra determination and hunger to succeed were clearly visible. After taking throwdowns, Rohit moved on to face Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, while also taking on Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in separate nets. The occasional sweeps were also evident, and he pulled shorter deliveries effortlessly. The ‘Hitman’ batted for around 90 minutes — his longest session since arriving in Australia — and had a lengthy discussion with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, discussing bat flow and different angles as seen through hand gestures. Notably, Rohit faced the semi-new ball with a hint that he could continue to bat in the middle order.
Kohli, who has had issues with balls outside the off stump, was also seen leaving most deliveries outside the fourth stump channel, much like Rohit. It seemed like the two senior batters were trying to forge a muscle-mind connection to avoid nudging any deliveries that could lead to catches in the slip cordon. Kohli had slight issues with his bat, stepping out of the nets to tape up the middle of his blade. His session was intense but lasted only about 40 minutes to fine-tune his touch. Unlike in Perth, Adelaide, or Brisbane, the deliveries here were much fuller.
Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted for almost two hours, while KL Rahul also had a long session. Rahul even took a blow on his forearm but continued batting after a brief pause. Ravindra Jadeja, after a stint with the ball, also batted for a considerable time. He is likely to continue in the playing XI following his strong performance with the bat at the Gabba. Notably, Jadeja will be without his long-term spin partner, Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his retirement after the Gabba Test.
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“I learned about retirement at the last moment, five minutes before the press conference. It was shocking. We spent the whole day together, and he didn’t even give me a hint. I found out at the last minute. We all know how Ashwin’s mind works,” Jadeja told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday.
“He is like my on-field mentor. We’ve been playing together for so many years, constantly passing messages to each other on the field regarding match situations and what the batters are trying to do.
“I will miss this. We just hope we get a better all-rounder and bowler than Ashwin. It’s not like nobody can replace a player. Everyone moves on, but you do get replacements. We have to move on. In India, we always have good talent; no one is irreplaceable. We will have to move on. It’s a golden opportunity for any youngster to seize,” he added.
Notably, Jasprit Bumrah was the only player absent from the nets as the team management carefully managed his workload.
India will train again on Sunday as preparations for the Boxing Day Test continue.
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