Just days before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy, Team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel had to fly back home from Dubai due to the death of his father. Morkel reached Dubai with the other members of the Indian team on February 15 and was part of many training sessions in the Middle Eastern region. But, the South African wasn’t a part of the team’s practice session on Monday. It was later reported that the former Proteas fast bowler was preparing to return home due to the unforeseen development.
Morkel’s return schedule is not yet confirmed, as per Dainik Jagran, and his absence is bound to affect Team India’s hopes of winning the Champions Trophy. India are scheduled to begin their ICC Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.
A Glimpse Into Team India’s Preparations
Gearing up for the finisher’s role, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul worked on his big-hitting skills as the Indian team trained for the second time on Monday ahead of their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh.
Rahul, typically known for his technical approach, appeared to shift gears as he focused on playing aggressive shots.
With Rishabh Pant threatening to take his mantle, the formerly 32-year-old Rahul seemed to have morphed into a more lethal, power-hitting mode: one could see him clearing the fences, almost nailing sixes with each ball bowled, with an unrestrained hand in the third ODI against England, where he went for 40 runs in double-quick time: 29 deliveries.
He is most likely to bat at 5 or 6, where he is given responsibility for some important boundaries and the acceleration of the innings right from the start in the final overs. He was quite surely practicing that over the range-hitting exercise during the high-intensity session.
Shreyas Iyer, who, too, has been aggressive in this series, was also working on the power game.
Opener Shubman Gill looked phenomenal in touch with all sorts of elegant strokes—crisp drives and pulls—having just finished off an astounding Player of the Series performance against England with scores of 87, 60, and 112.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, returning to form with a fabulous 119 in the second ODI against England, also looked good in the nets, working on his late cut and soft touches.
The mainstay of India’s batting, Virat Kohli, who has been showing signs of returning to form with a 52 in the third ODI, had a little time in the nets working on his skills as he batted quite confidently and seemed to be finding the middle of the bat and working on late cut-type shots.
