IND vs ENG 2021: Team India batsmen train hard on Durham's centre wicket
Team India's batsmen were seen training hard on the centre wicket at Durham, where their base has been set up for the past few days. Almost all the batsmen in the squad were on show, trying to get acclimatized to the conditions and getting into the groove before the all-important first Test on August 4th.
The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant were seen putting in the hard yards and practicing their strokeplay.
The BCCI uploaded photos of India's batsmen practicing hard on their official Twitter account:
Lot's of questions for India's batting to answer
With the first Test just a week away, India still need to sort out their batting options after their miserable display in the World Test Championship final. There are questions over the places of certain players in the team and the backups seem to be breathing down their necks with impressive performances in the warm-up games
KL Rahul smashed a brilliant century against the County Select XI and is making a strong case for himself at the No.5 position in place of an out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane. Cheteshwar Pujara's spot is also in doubt after repeated failures away from home.
Rishabh Pant is just recovering to full strength after being tested positive for COVID-19 and it could have an effect on his physical and mental health. Whether he will start the first Test is something that remains to be seen.
Virat Kohli had a stiff back but is back in the nets and will be keen to make a huge impact against England. The Indian captain scored two centuries the last time India toured England in 2018 and will be keen to emulate it or perform even better.
Only time will tell what would be the combination that India would go in with at Trent Bridge. Will it be six specialist batsmen and Pant? Or will they stick to their five-bowler theory? It will be interesting to find out.