India look for winning start
Virat Kohliled team goes through serious drills ahead of first T20I clash against Ireland
DUBLIN: It’s the dress rehearsal before the actual test but India would do well not to let the guard down, when they take on a lowly but effervescent Ireland in a twomatch T20 rubber, starting on Wednesday.
The games will mark the onset of a long summer for the Indian team, with sterner tests against England to follow this short series in Malahide on the outskirts of Dublin. England have just hammered Australia in an ODI series and most of their top players are in sublime form.
Perhaps it was a marker of this assignment that India decided to stay on and practice in London on Monday.
While the contingent had arrived from Delhi on Saturday, this was a first training session on-tour, held at the Merchants Taylor School cricket ground.
Reportedly, the players were split into three groups while practicing all facets of the game. Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar headed the pace group along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while a few others practised fielding drills. Among batsmen, openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed a first stint together.
Skipper Virat Kohli and the in-form KL Rahul batted together in adjacent nets against spin and pace respectively.
While Rahul has been a constant part of the T20I squad, Ajinkya Rahane’s omission from the ODI squad means that he is once again a contender for the No 4 spot when the three-match series against England begins on July 12. Since the tour of South Africa, this is the first time a fullstrength Indian team will be seen in action.
Kohli, Bhuvneshwar, Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni were rested for the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka in March. The former trio also missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan recently. With Rahul in contention, Man- ish Pandey, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik will be left jostling for two spots.
On the bowling front, Kohli will be tempted to field both legspinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, giving them an early taste of conditions here.
However, the pace department is an area of concern, as the second-choice fast bowlers have not enjoyed enough game time.
Umesh last played an ODI in September 2017 against Australia. Siddarth Kaul was in the Indian squad for the home ODIS against Sri Lanka in December, but was not picked ahead of Bhuvneshwar-bumrah.