NEWS
Follow UsPrior to the all-important Test series against Australia, starting February 9 in Nagpur, India are currently conducting their training sessions at the VCA Stadium in Civil Lines and head coach Rahul Dravid said the team is focusing a lot on close-in catching and slip fielding.
"Everyone looks in really good shape. It's nice to get the Test team together again. We had a lot of white-ball cricket over the last month or so," Dravid said in a video posted by the BCCI on Twitter.
"Some of those boys, shifting from white-ball to red-ball, it's nice for them to just have that extended period in the nets. The surfaces have been really good as well.
"Fielding side of things as well, that has been really important as well. The close-in catching which we think is going to become a really important part of the series.
"There's a lot of emphasis and focus on close-in catching, slip fielding, things like that when you are on the road all the time and don't get time to build and work on those things."
India have been playing non-stop cricket for a while now and Dravid said it’s nice to get some time off ahead of a series as it allows him to work closely with players.
"We have had a couple of really long sessions. I think it's really exciting as a coaching staff because you don't actually get times like this due to the amount of cricket we play," he said.
"You don't get time actually to do a camp or you can get an extended period of time where you get to work with players and build up towards the Test series.
"Just to be able to get this week has been really exciting for us and we, as coaching staff, have been planning and preparing for this for almost a month or so on what we will do in these four-five days. I'm glad it has all come together really well."
Rohit Sharma and Co. need to win this series if they want to confirm their spot in the World Test Championship final once again. Once they are done with Nagpur, the two teams will travel to New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13) for the remaining three Tests.
"Even though this is a short one by my standards, I like to have longer camps where we can work with people. But even then, we're happy to get five days or six days here in Nagpur," Dravid continued.
"It's been really fruitful and the boys are looking good. Hopefully, two or three days more into the Test match and then we can take it from there."
India haven’t lost a Test series at home for more than 10 years and have also got the better of Australia in the last three series, both home and away.
