India shorten practice match over condition of pitch and outfield

India’s four-day practice match against county side Essex was reduced to three days, starting on wednesday, amid high drama over the condition of the pitch and the outfield, both of which apparently left the visitors unhappy and threw their preparations for the Test series against England haywire.

The Indian team management took this decision during this afternoon’s net practice after having a look at the pitch.

Although there was no official word on why the match was shortened, Indian coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding.

The rest of the Indian support staff, including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar and bowling coach Bharat Arun also took stock of the conditions and were seen having discussions with the ground staff.

A senior member of the ground staff spoke at the end of it all on condition of anonymity and said that “all requests of the Indian team management have been accepted”.

When pressed if that included “shaving off the grass”, he simply said, “We have bent over backwards to accommodate the Indian team management’s demands. It is disappointing though because we had sold a lot of tickets for the fourth day.”

Another reason for Indian team management’s displeasure was that the two nets’ pitches were completely bald in comparison to the match wicket, which had a healthy green top.

India’s practice session lasted nearly four hours, with players arriving here in two batches. Nearly all batsmen and bowlers had rigorous workouts.

When contacted, a representative from Essex County Club said that a statement might be coming forth later in the day.

It remains to be seen how the Indian team management goes about doing things over the next three days. This includes Jasprit

The Indian team management took this decision during this afternoon’s net practice after having a look at the pitch. But there was no official word on why the match was shortened

Bumrah, who bowled in tandem with Ishant Sharma, albeit with a heavily taped-up left thumb.

Mohammed Shami also bowled a long spell in the nets. Shikhar Dhawan worked on facing the short ball, while skipper Virat Kohli took throwdowns.

KL Rahul followed openers in the nets, as Pujara batted later in the session. The remaining batsmen took their turns as part of the second batch.