India had their first training session in New York on Thursday, May 30, before their warm-up match against Bangladesh, scheduled for June 1. Rohit Sharma led India’s training session on the practice pitches of the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Bright sunshine welcomed the Indian team, which was without Virat Kohli after it rained in the city on Wednesday.
India were without Virat Kohli as the star batter left for the USA only on Thursday from Mumbai due to delay in paperwork. The former captain is expected to join the team on May 31 and it remains to be seen if he would be available for Saturday’s warm-up match.
The highlight of Thursday’s practice session was all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who sweat it out with both bat and ball. Hardik, who joined the team earlier in the week in New York, bowled in the nets for close to an hour, making use of the opportunity to hone his skills and prove his fitness after having not bowled frequently in the IPL for Mumbai.
Hardik then padded up and batted in the nets for a long time. Hardik went in last and was seen having chats with batting coach Vikram Rathour, according to Star Sports.
Hardik struggled to get going in the IPL, managing just 216 runs in 14 matches and picking up 11 wickets at an economy rate of close to 11. However, the all-rounder will be expected to play a crucial role in the T20 World Cup with India having picked only 3 frontline pacers in their 15-man squad.
