The Indian cricket team had a tough training session on Wednesday, where ace batter Virat Kohli spent considerable time working on confronting spin. Bowling coach Morne Morkel returned to the team after taking a temporary leave of absence due to a personal crisis.
Kohli was seen facing India’s premier spinners—Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja—before taking on the net bowlers for over 30 minutes as part of his preparations for the upcoming encounter against New Zealand on Sunday.
Veteran paceman Mohammed Shami bowled at full pace, revealing his capacity to reverse swing and even hitting Kohli on the pads twice. Teenagers Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh also showed immense intent, pushing themselves in the practice session.
With Morkel returned to the camp, the bowlers were aggressive under his leadership, looking forward to the challenge of New Zealand. The veteran South African pacer had departed the team only days before India's Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh on February 20. Returning, he was found deep in conversation with head coach Gautam Gambhir while the players were going through their pre-match warm-ups at the ICC Academy.
Shubman Gill, India's tournament highlight, was the lone absentee from the practice session. The BCCI media manager, though, confirmed there was nothing to worry about.
On a plus note for India, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has recuperated from sickness and attended the session along with the rest of the team.
After their comprehensive victory against Pakistan in the second group-stage encounter, India had a short respite before returning to training. Having already qualified for the semifinals along with New Zealand, the two teams will meet in their last group-stage encounter on March 2.
Having won the Champions Trophy last in 2013, India are still among the title favorites to win, given their powerful spin bowling and emphatic performances up until now. All of India's games have been staged in Dubai, where the slow ground has been yielding to spinners, adding yet another dimension to their strength.
This peculiar timetabling has raised eyebrows, with former England skipper Michael Atherton criticizing India's monopolization of one venue under the tournament's hybrid format. Although Pakistan is hosting the tournament officially, India will host the final in Dubai if they make it.
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