Poor facilities at India 'A' camp

NEW DELHI: The India 'A' team will be going to West Indies shortly on an important tour. But preparations for the tour got off to an uninspiring start on the first day of the three-day conditioning camp at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday. Nine of the 15 players in the squad, who arrived for the camp, went through a light knocking session with no net bowlers around.
Captain Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Bist had a session of throw-downs for about an hour on the main square with very few people to even fetch the ball if they were hit into the outfield and beyond.It was obvious that the bowlers won't go flat out in the searing heat. While seamers Parvinder Awana and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowled with short run-ups, spinners Rahul Sharma and Akshay Darekar rolled their arms over in one net. Besides, the players didn't practice with the Kookaburra balls, which will be used in the Caribbean.
When queried about the lack of facilities at the nets, the team management and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) spoke in different voices. While team coach Lalchand Rajput claimed that the management had conveyed the requirements for the nets to the host association well in advance, DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan maintained that he wasn't in the know of any such demand.
Rajput, putting the onus on DDCA, said, "You should ask the association why arrangements are not in place." Chauhan, too, remained firm. "The team management should have mentioned what facilities they required. Now that they have said so, they will be given net bowlers for the next two days," Chauhan said while adding that it was kind of DDCA to have allow the team to practice on the centre wickets. "We generally don't allow anybody to play on the square because we're extra careful after being banned for a year. But since the practice pitches have become bare and it's an India 'A' team, we have allowed them to use the turf."
The miscommunication is a bit baffling given that both Chauhan and Rajput were together in Chennai two days back to collect their BCCI benefit cheques.
Meanwhile, talking about the tour, Rajput believes that Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Pujara and Manoj Tiwary have a great opportunity to stake claims for India call-ups. "Initially, Pujara was the first choice before he got injured. Now the other three also have a great chance," said Rajput. When asked if he will ensure that untested players like Robin Bist, who is the leading scorer in the last Ranji Trophy season will be tried, he asserted playing the best XI was the priority. "We will take a call once we reach there."