Pictures: Team India gear up for Border Gavaskar Trophy ahead of first Test in Nagpur
Team India have begun their preparations for the Border Gavaskar Trophy ahead of the opening Test in Nagpur, which starts on Thursday, February 9. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared multiple snapshots of the training session on social media.
#TeamIndia have begun their preparations for the Border Gavaskar Trophy ahead of the 1st Test in Nagpur.
#INDvAUS https://t.co/21NlHzLwGA
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were seen practicing ahead of the four-match Test series.
KL Rahul also spent quality time in the nets as he aims to regain his lost form in Tests. For the uninitiated, Rahul scored just 57 runs in four innings in Bangladesh last year but was able to guide the visitors to a 2-0 victory.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was seen working on his batting. He will be looking to come out all guns blazing after an injury ruled him out of international cricket for the last five months.
Kuldeep Yadav also spent time on his batting. It’s worth mentioning that the southpaw had scored a handy 40-run knock in his last Test in Bangladesh.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli key to Team India's success
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will be key as Team India aim to seal their fifth consecutive series against Australia at home.
So far, Pujara has scored 1893 runs in 20 Tests against Australia, including five centuries and seven half-centuries. He recently scored 90 and 102 in the first Test in Bangladesh. The 35-year-old will look to continue his sublime form against the Aussies.
The Saurashtra batter amassed 521 and 271 runs in the last two four-match Test series in Australia. Team India won both the Test series 2-1.
Meanwhile, Kohli has amassed 1682 runs in 20 Tests against Australia, including seven centuries. After ending his century drought in white-ball cricket, Kohli will look to bring up his 28th Test ton in the upcoming series. The former India captain registered his last Test ton against Bangladesh in November 2019.
India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.