Kolkata: Transitioning from shorter formats to the rigours of red-ball cricket takes time, and India captain Shubman Gill spent close to an hour and a half at the nets, fine-tuning his technique ahead of the opening Test against South Africa, starting here on Friday.
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having secured a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month in challenging conditions.
Gill, who struck a fifty and an unbeaten century in the two home Tests against the West Indies last month, has been searching for runs in white-ball cricket.
He managed just one score above fifty — a 46 at Carrara Oval — from eight innings across the ODIs and T20Is in Australia.
Now back to leading the Test side, Gill batted with determination at nets and looked keen to regain rhythm after a lean white-ball run.
Before the nets, head coach Gautam Gambhir and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak were seen having a long chat with him near the High Court end, possibly discussing his approach.
Gill later joined his teammates for slip-fielding drills before padding up alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal for an intense net session.
Starting with spin, he faced Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, playing mostly on the ground with occasional sweeps.
Moving to the pace nets, he faced Nitish Kumar Reddy who bowled in tandem with a few local club bowlers as they tested him with seam movement.
A support staff member then used a sidearm to deliver throwdowns from height, giving Gill extra bounce and pace.
After more than an hour in the side nets, he shifted to the central strip for another 30 minutes of throwdowns under the watchful eye of bowling coach Morne Morkel, who himself rolled his arm over to generate sharp pace and bounce.
Fresh from scores of 67 and 156 for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy, Jaiswal also had a long stint at the central wicket, facing Morkel and taking throwdowns. The left-hander looked in fluent touch, driving and pulling with assurance.
Spotlight on Sai and No. 3
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Another batter to spend significant time at the nets was Sai Sudharsan, who managed just 84 runs in two unofficial Tests for India A against South Africa A.
The team management continues to back him for the No. 3 slot, though he is yet to make it his own, with only a 61 against England in Manchester and 87 versus West Indies at home to show so far in Tests.
His India A teammates — KL Rahul, Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj — skipped the optional practice after joining the squad only a day earlier after a demanding A series in Bengaluru, which concluded on Sunday.
But there was no such ‘break’ for Sai who batted with full intensity, facing pacers, spinners, and taking throwdowns at the centre strip.
The No. 3 position remains a talking point, especially with Dhruv Jurel in prolific form.
There’s also speculation that Jurel could feature as a pure batter, with Rishabh Pant set to return to wicket-keeping duties after recovering from his injury.
Jurel, who averages 47.77 in Tests and notched his maiden ton against the West Indies, has been in red-hot form in first-class cricket, scoring three centuries in his last five games, including twin hundreds in the second match against South Africa A.
Among pacers, only Jasprit Bumrah turned up, keeping it light with spot bowling at two stumps for about 15 minutes, targeting the off stump.
In a relaxed mood, he also batted briefly and spent time interacting with teammates.
Bumrah had light strapping on his right knee but bowled under the supervision of Gambhir and Morkel.
Overall, only seven players turned up for the optional practice session, as the likes of Pant, Jurel, Rahul, Siraj, Kuldeep, Akash, Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel skipped.
Focus on pitch
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After nearly three hours of training, the team’s think tank — Gambhir, Kotak, Morkel, and Gill — gathered at the centre wicket for a long pitch inspection.
Morkel and Gill checked the firmness before summoning curator Sujan Mukherjee for a 15-minute discussion. Judging by their expressions, the management did not appear entirely pleased with the surface.
The pitch, which has not been watered for a week now, appeared dry and brown with light grass patches.
Later in the evening, after South Africa wrapped up their session, CAB President Sourav Ganguly along with other officials walked up to the centre strip for a close inspection and held discussions with local curator Sujan Mukherjee.
While the groundsmen watered the adjoining areas of the square, the main pitch was deliberately left dry.
In the two Ranji games here earlier this season, India pacer Akash Deep and veteran seamer Mohammed Shami struggled for assistance on the opening day before Shami’s reverse swing turned things later.
Ganguly has already clarified that no request for a “rank turner’ has been made by the team management.
South Africa boast of a balanced attack in both pace and spin.
While Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen spearheaded the pace department, the spin trio of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, and Senuran Muthusamy were outstanding in Pakistan.
Harmer (13), Muthusamy (11), and Maharaj (9) shared 33 wickets between them in two Tests, with Muthusamy — who also scored 106 runs — being named Player of the Series.
