World Cup: Kohli, Gill and Surya bowl in nets as India prepare backup options in Hardik Pandya’s absence
World Cup: Kohli, Gill roll over arms in nets as India prepare backup options
The Indian Team landed in Lucknow for another marquee World Cup 2023 clash against England on Sunday. The Men in Blue began training with batters, mainly Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and even Suryakumar Yadav, rolling their arms over as backup options in Hardik Pandya’s absence, who is out of the England game with a niggle in his ankle.
Hardik hurt his ankle while trying to stop the ball in his follow-through during the Bangladesh game in Pune and has been out since. To maintain the balance, India had to alter their winning combination as they returned to their older template of seven batters and four bowlers. Suryakumar and Mohammed Shami returned to the XI for the New Zealand match, with Shardul going out.
Sitting comfortably on the top of the points table with five wins in as many matches, India next face England in Lucknow. Eyeing a spot in the semis, India must win this game, and for that, they need all bases covered. Although Shami’s inclusion brings variety and a wicket-taking option for Rohit, the skipper and management still want a backup in case one of the five bowlers has a bad day at work.
Looking for options within the playing XI, Virat, Gill, and Surya come across as backup bowlers, with all bowling in the nets, per the latest reports.
While Kohli is said to have bowled for a good fifteen minutes, and so did Gill, Suryakumar had an extended session, bowling fifteen minutes with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
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Notably, Virat completed the over in which Hardik got injured.
Pacers are still India’s go-to-option
The trio of Shami, Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah is the best unit in this World Cup, and Rohit will be relying on them to get the job done against England.
The returning Shami picked his first five-for against New Zealand in the previous game – his second intournament history. Courtesy of his spell and Virat Kohli’s stunning 95, India ended Kiwi’s winning streak, beating them by four wickets.
Against England, who recently lost their fourth match of this World Cup versus Sri Lanka on Thursday, the Indian Team would like to avenge last edition’s loss. While the seamers are in top touch, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja will also hold the key to success.
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