The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sent five bowers to help India prepare well for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018 at the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma & Co will start their campaign against the qualifiers Hong Kong. The very next day they will square up against the arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. India suffered a humiliating loss the last they faced Pakistan at the Champions Trophy.
In a bid to do well, they have sent three India A pacers and two spinners for quality practice sessions. The three seamers include Avesh Khan of Madhya Pradesh, M Prasidh Krishna of Karnataka and Siddarth Kaul of Punjab while the two spinners are left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and leg-spinner Mayank Markande. They will be bowling at the nets for the next three days to help the players prepare well for Asia Cup.
Save Avesh; the other four were a part of the India A and B squads in the recently concluded Quadrangular series. Kaul was also a part of the senior team during the limited-overs leg of the UK tour.
“Not everywhere do you get quality net bowlers and it becomes a problem for the senior team during practice sessions. With back to back games, you don’t expect a Bhuvneshwar Kumar or a Jasprit Bumrah to bowl flat out at the nets. Also, the young academy bowlers at times can’t provide quality practice. Hence we have got some of our next line of bowlers,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.
However, with Vijay Hazare Trophy starting from September 19, it is likely that they will come back to resume their state duties.
The BCCI has also arranged for a left-arm throwdown expert from Sri Lanka named Nuwan Seneviratne. They brought him with a specific aim of tackling Mohammed Aamir’s fast-paced incoming deliveries. Around ten members Indian team under stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma had their first net session on Friday.