India’s weak link off late has been an all-rounder at the number 8. Shardul Thakur has been unable to impress both Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid with his batting skills and thus a day before the India vs England World Cup warm-up match, Ravichandran Ashwin practiced for 45 minutes at the nets. The veteran all-rounder recently replaced the injured Axar Patel in the India World Cup squad.
The Men in Blue traveled to Guwahati from Rajkot on 28th September and had an eventful training session a day prior to the IND vs ENG clash. While the other two players resumed their normal practice, the centerpiece of attraction was Ravi Ashwin.
The veteran batter had 2 batting sessions before resuming his bowling drills under the watchful eyes of Paras Mhambrey. It is to be noted that India had an optional training today and only 4 players joined the session. This includes the likes of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Ravi Ashwin, and Shardul Thakur.
Rohit-Virat skip optional practice, Ashwin gets extended session ahead of warm-up
Not only did Ashwin bat for a prolonged session, Shardul too was also spotted with the bat. In the first batting stint, Ashwin faced a lot of spin bowling which he tackled with relative ease. The veteran all-rounder then attempted to play quite a few sweep and reverse sweep shots which he managed well.
In the second batting stint, Ashwin was spotted tackling throwdowns at the nets. This brings to the understanding that India plans to dust off every chink in their armor before the World Cup. While the Men in Blue has struggled to score runs at the number 8 spot, Ashwin’s preparations clearly show that the team is ready for all the challenges and is keen to rectify their shortcomings.
After a long batting session, Ashwin continued with his bowling practice for about half an hour. It is expected that Ashwin will make the cut in the World Cup squad and will be a vital player for the Indian team in the upcoming mega tournament.
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