Xtra Time Web Desk: A big painting of local boy Sanju Samson welcomed the Indian cricketers for their optional practice session at Saint Xaviers College cricket ground in Thumba on Monday. The Men in Blue will play their second warm up match in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against the Netherlands Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium on Tuesday.
Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer were missing at the optional practice session. Kohli is yet to join the squad after leaving from home from Guwahati, leaving serious doubts about his participation in the Netherlands game.
The venue for the optional practice session was inside a college campus on National Highway 66. Fans gathered in numbers outside the venue to take a glimpse of the practice session.
The training session began with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill walking into bat first in the nets. KL Rahul was seen practicing keeping. Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur bowled at one net while the spin-trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja bowled at the adjacent nets. Throwdown specialists Raghavendra and Nuwan gave throwdowns at the third net.
Once Shubman and Ishan finished their batting, Suryakumar Yadav and Rahul walked in. Sky faced local bowlers in the net while Rahul confronted Mohammed Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The bowlers also got their chance to bat, with Ashwin, Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav all getting an extended session. Although it rained momentarily but that did not stop the practice. There are forecasts of showers on Tuesday though.