Team India is ready to take on England in the fifth and last rescheduled Test at Edgbaston which starts on July 1. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other Indian cricket team members have hit the nets session already. Kohli was seen giving a passionate speech to the team members on June 22 before the practice session. India is leading 2-1 in the ongoing five-match series. The last Test was rescheduled to this year after many players from the visiting camp tested positive for the coronavirus. India will need either a win or a draw to clinch their first series in England since 2007-08, when the Rahul Dravid-led side achieved the success.
Rohit Sharma and Co will be up against Leicestershire side in a warm-up game that starts on June 23 from 3.30 pm IST. It will be the only practice game that India plays before they take on England from July 1 in 5th Test. But here’s a twist. Some of India’s players, at least four of them, will be playing not for India but against India in this warm-up contest. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna will turn up for Leicestershire vs India in the practice game. As per Cricbuzz, this arrangement has been made by BCCI, ECB and the LCCC. While we don’t know why the Indian players are playing against their own players, it could be a case of rival team falling short of players or India wanting to have some more teeth in the opposition team to have a better practice.
Practice _
Strength and Conditioning Coach, Soham Desai, takes us through Day 1_ of #TeamIndia‘s practice session in Leicester as we build up to the #ENGvIND Test. _ pic.twitter.com/qxm2f4aglX
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 21, 2022
The same website also reported that Virat Kohli did not turn up for practice on June 22. Not to forget he was there when the team was training on June 21. There were rumours floating that Kohli might be down with Covid-19, but sources close to the team rubbished them. Kohli will certainly be playing in the fifth Test vs England.
