Ahead of the third and final One-Day International in Indore against New Zealand, the Indian cricket team members and other officials visited the renowned Mahakaleshwar Temple here on Monday morning and attended the 'Bhasma Aarti'.
India leads the series 2-0 thanks to victories in the first and second ODIs and now will look to clean sweep New Zealand and gain the no.1 rank in ICC ODI team rankings.
Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav attended and participated in the morning 'aarti' and offered 'Jal' (water) to the deity. Ujjain Lok Sabha MP Anil Firozia felicitated them during the visit.
The players and the staff also participated in the 'Bhasma Aarti' of Lord Shiva which was performed in the early morning hours at the temple. The players wore traditional attire - dhoti and angavastram - while posing with the staff of the Indian cricket team.
"Later the team, comprising 25 persons, visited the residence of Mahanirvani Akhada's Mahant Shri Vineet Giriji Maharaj to seek blessings,” temple priest Ashish Guru told PTI.
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav said that they prayed to Mahakal for the speedy recovery of their teammate Rishabh Pant. The wicketkeeper-batsman was involved in a car crash on December 30 and suffered a number of serious injuries, however, he is making good progress with his recovery.
"We prayed for the speedy recovery of Rishabh Pant. His comeback is very important to us. We have already won the series against New Zealand, looking forward to the final match against them," Suryakumar Yadav told ANI.
The third ODI will be played on January 24.
