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Team India players were seen sweating it out at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad ahead of the first game of the five-match Test series against England beginning on Thursday, January 25.
In a video posted by BCCI, big names like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul were seen arriving at the ground in the team bus. After a bit of a warm-up, the players were seen executing their fielding drills.
KS Bharat could be India's gloveman at the start of the series, as he was seen going through his wicketkeeping drills. The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal were also seen putting in the hard yards with their willow.
Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravichandran Ashwin were also seen bowling in the nets. Here's the video:
The clip ends with skipper Rohit Sharma seen having a light-hearted chat with his teammates at the end of the training session that seemingly lasted three hours.
Star batter Virat Kohli has made himself unavailable for the first two Tests against England citing personal reasons.
India look to address the Virat Kohli hole in their batting
With the top three likely to be unchanged from the playing XI that won at Cape Town, Shreyas Iyer could bat at No. 4 against England. Iyer has proved to be one of the best players of spin in the line-up and can be the enforcer in home conditions.
KL Rahul could slot in at No. 5 as a pure batter; the hundred at Centurion has given him a new lease of life in the middle order. KS Bharat's recent ton (116*) for India A against England Lions has given the team management reason to put their faith in his batting ability.
The presence of spin-bowling all-rounders like Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin will give India the batting depth they relish in home conditions.
Despite Virat Kohli's absence, the hosts would believe they have enough quality in their batting to tackle England. However, it will be interesting to see how the batters perform if the hosts intend to produce rank-turners, like they have done at home for quite a while now.
