It was a bit of hardwork followed by some celebrations as the Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli underwent customary fitness tests after which Ajinkya Rahane’s 27th birthday was celebrated on the first of the two-day camp, here on Saturday. Closely monitored by India team director Ravi Shastri, the 14-member squad led by Kohli took the beep test to assess the fitness levels as the camp went on for about two hours during the evening session.
The squad assembled around 4.45 PM as they headed straight to the ground and had a light drill sessions. From Harbhajan Singh, who is returning to the Tests after two years, fit-again Ishant Sharma to Kohli all took part in the multi-stage fitness test as they were made to run short-sprints of about 20 metres each.
later they ran four laps of the ground before winding it up with the customary cake cutting ceremony of Rahane who turned 27 on the day. “It’s was brief celebration and everyone was present,” CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey, who was appointed as administrative manager for the Bangladesh tour, told reporters. The Kohli-led side will assemble here on Sunday afternoon for a full-fledged practice session ahead of their departure on Monday morning.
Rahul ruled out due to dengue
Talented Karnataka opener lokesh Rahul was on Saturday ruled out of the Indian cricket team’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh as he is yet to recover from dengue. The 23-year-old, who made his Test debut against Australia in Melbourne, was declared unfit for the one off Test starting June 10 and no replacement has been named as of now.
“Kl Rahul is still recovering from his illness so he will not be a part of the team to Bangladesh,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur informed the mediapersons. Rahul reported for fitness camp in Kolkata as asked by the BCCI but the medical staff ruled him out immediately upon inspection. Rahul, who had an inauspicious start to his Test career in Melbourne, made amends in his second Test at Sydney, where he scored his maiden hundred (110). The Indian Test team led by Virat Kohli will leave Kolkata for Dhaka on Monday to take part in a one-off Test match and three-match ODI series.