India’s preparations for the long Test season began on Friday, with some new faces saying hello while some old faces said, “Do you miss them?” Virat Kohli returned to the red-ball game for the first time in almost nine months. Rishabh Pant looks set to pick up where his Test career ended two years ago. And Gautam Gambhir has been in charge of everything as the team prepares for matches against Bangladesh (two Tests in September), New Zealand (three Tests in October) and Australia (five Tests in November-January).
The Indian Test squad arrived in Chennai on Thursday and began training in batches. Captain Rohit Sharma addressed them as they gathered and was one of the first to step out and take the bat. He was joined by Kohli and the pair faced a series of net bowlers on a specially prepared pitch at either end of the square at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
One was a black dirt floor, with so many footsteps around a good section of its full length that it looked almost burnt. The other was a red dirt floor, with signs of selective watering. The short, good length section was clean, but everything more compacted was rough. However, the mid-wicket was blocked and appeared to have a fair amount of grass. In previous years, India have tried to simulate fast bowler-friendly conditions in home Test matches in preparation for substantial away tours.
Rohit and Kohli worked alongside top-order teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who will be confident heading into the new season after coming of age against England earlier this year. All four alternated between the two nets and ate a diet rich in left-arm spin. Tamil Nadu’s Ajith Ram and M Siddharth continued to spin the wheel in an attempt to emulate the threat Shakib Al Hasan will pose in the coming weeks. Varun Chakravarthy was there too, as was Himanshu Singh, a 21-year-old off-spinner from Mumbai who appears to have borrowed his bowling action from R Ashwin.
Soon it was time for the Indian bowlers to enjoy themselves and Jasprit Bumrah, who last played for India in the T20 World Cup final in June, did not hesitate. Although it was his second technique, he showed his majesty by running out of the crease and lofting the ball straight into the ground. In the afternoon, he did some light fitness work and then chatted with bowling coach Morne Morkel.
The new fast bowlers have had to deal with a more rigorous workload. Yash Dayal, who is training for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year, has had a productive session under the tutelage of Morkel and Gambhir. In addition to his ability to provide left-arm angles, his effort balls have a habit of hitting quite high on the bat.
Pant provided one of the most thrilling moments of Friday’s session when he unleashed a surprisingly casual pick-up shot from the hip after being knocked out by Dayal. The wicketkeeper was one of India’s leading batsmen in Test cricket when he suffered a life-threatening road accident in December 2022. He has already returned to the limited-overs format and was part of the team that won the T20 World Cup, but it will be a big moment when he returns to red-ball cricket next Thursday.
The first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on September 19 is one of five home games India will play in their bid to qualify for the World Test Championship final in June 2025. They currently sit top of the points table and will be looking to secure a third consecutive final appearance with five more wins from their remaining 10 games.
