The Indian cricketers are sweating it out for the third day in a row in Centurion, ahead of the three-match Test series in South Africa. A series of photos shared by BCCI on Monday showed head coach Rahul Dravid spending time with Test Captain Virat Kohli, perhaps gearing him up for the series-opening Boxing Day Test match at SuperSport Park starting December 26. . Kohli has not been at his best in the past two years, especially in red ball cricket. He has an average of 26 in the last 13 Tests he has played with a best of 74. For the record, Kohli’s career average in Tests is still over 50. The last time the right-handed talisman scored an international century was in November 2019 in the Day-Night Test against Bangladesh.
Kohli, who had taken a short break after exiting India’s Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup, is keen to get back to his best time and help India win their first test series on South African soil. And who better than former captain Dravid to talk about batting for a grueling overseas tour.
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 20, 2021
In the absence of the veteran Rohit Sharma, who has been ruled out of the three-game series with a hamstring injury, there will be an additional responsibility on the Indian Test captain to steer the Indian ship against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.
The photos shared by BCCI showed the Indian pace battery while bowling was in full swing. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Ishant Sharma threw in the nets.
India’s wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha, Rishabh Pant improved their goalkeeping skills and also hit the nets.
The young Priyank Panchal, who has been included in the squad as a replacement for Rohit, worked on his strength during the practice session.
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Meanwhile, there are reports that the first Test in Centurion will likely take place behind closed doors due to COVID-19 concerns in South Africa.
Only a few suite owners and delegates will be able to watch the match live, although the current COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the government will allow 2,000 fans, according to the African-language weekly ‘Report’ as quoted by the website ‘news24’.
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