Chennai, September 16: In preparation for the first Test against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma and his team engaged in another extensive training session at the Chepauk Stadium on Monday. All 16 squad members were present, highlighting the significance of this build-up.

Following a rest day, the Indian squad dove into their third training session since arriving in Chennai last week. The highly anticipated first Test is set to commence on Thursday.

As is often the case, Virat Kohli was among the first to hit the nets. Alongside him was the promising left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal, both facing deliveries from ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and local hero R Ashwin. This intense practice scenario was mirrored by the next set of batters, including skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Sarfaraz Khan. Notably, Sarfaraz joined the camp fresh off his participation in the second round of the Duleep Trophy match in Anantapur. Rohit focused intently on honing his skills against spin, given Bangladesh’s reputation for its slow bowling attack.

The all-rounder trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and pacer Mohammed Siraj also spent significant time facing local bowlers and receiving throwdowns. The practice pitch at Chepauk offered a decent amount of bounce, adding an extra layer of challenge to the session.

India has two more practice sessions scheduled before facing a confident Bangladesh team, buoyed by their recent series sweep in Pakistan. Most players in the playing eleven are expected to select themselves. Given Chennai’s spinner-friendly surface, India is likely to field three spinners and two pacers. The probable spinners are Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav, while Bumrah and Siraj will manage the pace department. Despite his impressive all-around performance across formats, Axar Patel might have to sit out.

On the batting front, Rishabh Pant is poised to make his Test return after nearly two years. Dhruv Jurel, who impressed in his debut series against England, will likely be benched in Pant’s favor.

Facing Jasprit Bumrah in the nets is a valuable experience for any batsman, particularly for young talents like Jaiswal. During Monday’s session, Bumrah repeatedly got the better of Jaiswal, often dislodging his off-stump. Jaiswal hopes this shaky form in practice doesn’t carry over to the opening Test against Bangladesh starting on September 19.

With ten Tests this season, Jaiswal aims to overcome the “second season blues.” Having scored over 1000 runs in his first nine Tests—with more than 700 against England—Jaiswal is considered a future superstar. However, his critics point out his struggles on bouncy tracks in South Africa during those nine games. His real test will come later this year with five Tests in Australia. But before facing Australia’s pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood, Jaiswal must first contend with Bangladeshi speedsters Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana.

Jaiswal’s first-class season has started poorly with two low scores in the Duleep Trophy, where Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed troubled him with extra bounce—an area still under development for him.

During Monday’s nets, Bumrah bowled extensively to Jaiswal, twice clean-bowling him and frequently beating his outside edge. Bumrah’s deliveries moved away from Jaiswal, who appeared unsettled by both pace and swing. It wasn’t a pleasant sight to see his stumps uprooted repeatedly as he pushed hard at deliveries with a firm grip.

Jaiswal’s struggle wasn’t limited to Bumrah; net bowlers Simarjeet Singh, Gurnoor Brar, and Gurjanpreet Singh also repeatedly beat his bat. At one point, Kohli offered advice to Jaiswal on where he might be going wrong.

Both Kohli and Jaiswal batted for nearly an hour each, facing around 50 balls. Kohli showcased his trademark cover drives and on-drives during this session. Conversely, Jaiswal focused on leaving deliveries outside off-stump, especially from Bumrah.

The practice pitch’s red soil provided considerable bounce, making shot-making challenging. Bumrah even troubled Kohli with deliveries targeting his pads.

After Bumrah’s nearly five-over spell concluded, both batters faced other practice bowlers. Jaiswal appeared more at ease against spinners, occasionally executing the square cut.

Meanwhile, Pant demonstrated his prowess against left-arm spinners by dispatching deliveries from Ajit Ram and M Siddharth with ease. (PTI)