IND V AUS 2020: How Team India have turned routine net sessions in Australia exciting by adding fun elements

After all the hype and build-up, Team India will finally get into action in Australia when they play the first of the three-match ODI series at Sydney on Friday, November 27.

The tour of Australia will be Team India’s first international assignment since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the game to a halt across the globe.

Most of the players in the Team India squad across the three formats featured in the recently-concluded IPL 2020, which means that they will not be rusty after spending most of their time at home in the last few months.

Even so, Team India members have been working hard in the nets to prepare for the massive Australian challenge.

Nets are usually seen as mundane practice sessions, with batsmen taking normal throwdowns, and bowlers seeking to sharpen their skills by routinely running in.

Team India combine work with pleasure in the nets Down Under

Some Team India members in Australia have given a zany twist to routine net sessions. Forced to stay in a bio-bubble amid the dangers posed by Coronavirus, Team India have been doing commendably well to keep themselves in high spirits. Check out the videos below.

1. Guess who is imitating whom!

In this video shared on Team India's official Instagram account, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah are seen imitating each others’ bowling action with rather amusing results.

While Jadeja tried to become a left-handed version of Bumrah, the latter actually bowled with his wrong (left) hand to try and get his version of Jadeja spot on.

Amazingly, it was young batsman Prithvi Shaw who stood out with his copycat skills, replicating the actions of legendary former spinners Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan, and doing an awe-inspiring job as well.

2. Ashwin-Rahul’s tennis cricket

In this video shared by BCCI, Team India's wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul is seen in the nets, practising against short bowling using a unique method.

How is that for innovation? 😎@ashwinravi99 grabs 🎾 racquet while @klrahul11 faces volleys with his 🏏 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/03ZV003SdV

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2020

In the clip, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is seen sending rising deliveries Rahul's way, but with the use of tennis balls and a racquet.

How much the tennis ball practice will help Rahul, we will only know when the batsman comes up against the rising deliveries from Australian bowlers. But the method made for interesting viewing for sure.

3. When Dhawan wooed Shaw

Trust Shikhar Dhawan to do the unthinkable! Taking some time out from the team’s busy practice sessions, the maverick left-hander decided to have some fun with the baby of the team, Prithvi Shaw.

In a hilarious video that Dhawan posted on his Instagram account, he is seen dancing to an old Bollywood song with Shaw. "Laila is still making me mad," Dhawan captioned the video.

That’s not all. In the same clip, the left-handed batsmen is also seen taking off his shirt in his attempt to impress Shaw, leaving the latter visibly embarrassed. All in good fun, though.

4. Steyn trolls Chahal for batting in the nets

Not only the Indian batsmen, even leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who doesn’t have great batting credentials, shared a video of him batting in the nets on his Instagram account.

Not surprisingly, he got trolled cheekily. While some fans asked him if he was planning to open the batting in Australia, his RCB teammate Dale Steyn had a hilarious query for Chahal, "Facing Fast off-spin?"

Suryakumar Yadav and Dale Steyn trolled Yuzvendra Chahal on Instagram

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav also had a funny take. ‘Tere se lena padega bat lagra hai,’ he replied to Chahal’s batting video.