India are preparing for their next clash in the Asia Cup 2023 when they take on Pakistan in their first match of the Super Fours in Colombo on Sunday, September 10. Ahead of the marquee clash, the Indian players had to option of participating in an optional practice session, of which Sports Tak has received exclusive footage, which can be accessed here.
Team India last had a full practice session ahead of their clash against Pakistan in the group stages on September 1. On Thursday, September 7, six players chose to work on their batting — Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Suryakumar Yadav.
All the players, including allrounders Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur, chose to concentrate on their batting prowess.
A lot of the focus was on injury returnee KL Rahul, who joined the India squad after missing the two matches of the group stage against Pakistan and Nepal. Rahul batted for a long time, videos of which were taken on iPad by a video analyst. These videos were later analysed by head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour, as the determine whether he is fit enough to make it to the Playing XI
On-field consulting editor Nikhil Naz also reported that Rahul did not keep wickets and did a lot of fitness training and assessment, which might lead us to believe that the gloves might remain with Ishan Kishan, who has also been in good form with the bat. A major boost was also that Rahul's batting was effortless.
Weather conditions ahead of Asia Cup 2023
Meanwhile, the weather in Colombo ahead of the remaining Super Fours are very unpredictable as rains are expected for the rest of the day. Sports Tak reports that the city has witnessed rains for the last for 12 hours as the chances of the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh game not happening in Colombo is very likely. Meanwhile, a lot of games in the Super Fours might be washed out as well.
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