[Watch] Team India are all smiles in footvolley game ahead of clash against The Netherlands in 2023 World Cup
The Indian players looked in high spirits as they had an innovative game played during their training session at the Chinnasway Stadium in Bengaluru in the build-up to their 2023 World Cup clash against The Netherlands (NED) on Sunday.
In a video posted by the BCCI, almost the entire squad was seen playing the game of 'footvolley', which is a mixture of the games football and volleyball. They used plastic chairs to create a divider between the two teams and the players were seen having fun and sharing laughs while playing.
Here's the video:
India would want to avoid any complacency vs NED
The hosts have sealed top spot in the 2023 World Cup league phase and are likely to play their semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on November 15.
While there isn't much riding on the game against The Netherlands, the Men in Blue would want to continue their winning run and not let any kind of complacency creep in. They have already had a week's rest since that incredible 243-run win over South Africa and it will be interesting to see whether captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid would decide to rotate some players.
The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be crucial to India's chances in the knockout stages and could be rested, with Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna probably getting a game. They may also look at resting Kuldeep Yadav and giving Ravichandran Ashwin another run.
India have certainly been missing the balance that Hardik Pandya used to provide. However, their ploy of playing specialists has been working so far.
2023 World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.