India vs Zimbabwe: ‘Late-entrant’ Abhishek Sharma looks to regain form

CHENNAI: There was a lot happening in the India nets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday, from Rinku Singh’s absence — he has returned home to be with his ailing father — to Suryakumar Yadav’s two-hour, range-hitting session.

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That wasn’t all, however. As Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan went in to bat at two adjacent nets, Abhishek Sharma — India’s shining light of the top-order — chose to bowl left-arm spin.

Batters came and went but Abhishek stood there beside the nets, talking to the spinners, trying to understand the turn that could be on offer from the black-soil pitch that will be used for the match against Zimbabwe on Thursday.




Finally, after almost 100 minutes of practice was over, Abhishek took up the bat. He didn’t play any of the Team India spinners or pacers, it was only the practice bowlers.

Abhishek has been in wretched batting form after getting three ducks to start off. In the 12-ball 15 that he scored in Ahmedabad, there were seven false shots.

Given the situation the team is in at the moment, it is highly unlikely that he will be dropped. Probably what the team management was trying to do was to allow him to play some not-so-good bowling, so that Abhishek could connect his shots and get some form and confidence back. As the nets were folding up, Abhishek batted for half-an-hour and did connect, coming up with the kind of the crisp shots he is known for.

A few landed in the Chepauk stands as well as he tried to work on his game against off-spin, something that has been bothering him of late.

Rinku unlikely, maybe it’s Sanju time? Sundar likely to sit out
As Rinku’s absence was noticed and news filtered in that he had headed back home to be with his father, who is battling cancer, the left-hander’s possible alternatives came into focus.

Axar Patel should walk into the squad given his versatility with bat and ball. In that case, if Sanju has to play, the only player that can miss out is Washington Sundar. Washington was picked for the South Africa game but didn’t exactly shine with the ball or bat. Sanju’s inclusion could also mean that Ishan Kishan comes in at No. 3, a position which isn’t exactly unfamiliar to him. That could force the likes of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav to come down by a slot.

Surya works on his range-hitting
Surya’s strike-rate hasn’t exactly been spectacular. Against South Africa he scored a 22-ball 18 that pushed India back. Tuesday’s session suggested that he was trying to get his hitting range right. He was dismissed quite a few times by India’s front-line spinners at the nets, but that was not stopping him from going for his shots. ‘SKY’, quite clearly, is trying to come out of his shell and the Zimbabwe bowling on a batting friendly pitch may provide him with the opportunity.


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