Team India suffered an embarrassing 113-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second Test match at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Saturday (October 26). With this loss, India’s remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories came to an end.
The hosts will look to salvage some pride and add crucial points to their WTC tally in the third Test against New Zealand, scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, the Indian team management has informed all the players that there would be no optional training in Mumbai ahead of the series finale.
The report further claims that all players have been asked to attend the two practice sessions before the third Test gets underway on November 1.
“The team management has asked the players to be present for two days of practice on October 30 and 31. It’s compulsory and no one can skip it,” The Indian Express quoted a source as saying.
In the past, India had allowed players to skip nets a day before so that they could stay fresh in the lead up to a Test match. However, the series loss seems to have forced the team management to opt for intense practice sessions.
Usually, pace bowlers and top players generally skip or have a light training session before the start of a Test match. It’s been the trend for quite some time, especially considering the workload on Indian cricketers. This practice has also been followed so that players get extra time to recover.
But the practice sessions before what has become a must-win Mumbai Test to stay in the race for WTC final will now be intense where players will toil hard.
India will next travel to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Losing the New Zealand series 3-0 will make life rather difficult for them ahead of the tour Down Under.
As per the report, star players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul have travelled to Mumbai to be with their families whereas most of the Indian players will be landing in Mumbai on October 27 along with the support staff.
(With The Indian Express Inputs)
