India cricketers, who are serving a 10-day quarantine period here ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, began their England sojourn with a two-day intra-squad practice match here at Hampshire Bowl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released pictures as well as a video on Saturday with the highlights of first day's play on Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India captain Virat Kohli is seen batting, defending and clipping the ball off his toes, as also Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who is seen hammering a big shot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj are seen bowling. Newcomer Arzan Nagwaswalla is also seen in action. Spinner R Ashwin is also seen rolling his arm over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pant apparently reached a milestone as he is shown lifting his bat in celebration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indian team is on a three-and-a-half month tour of England where it plays the WTC final against New Zealand from June 18 and then a five-Test series in August-September.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India are not allowed to play any local club or county team unlike in the past.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Even New Zealand played an intra-squad warm-up game last month on arrival in Southampton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
However, unlike the Indian cricket board, New Zealand Cricket passed on the details of the match especially the outstanding performances from the day's play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indians had reached Southampton on June 3. Their workload increased gradually as directed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which is hosting the WTC final.
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\r\nA good Day 1 at office for #TeamIndia<\/a> at the intra-squad match simulation ahead of #WTC21<\/a> Final pic.twitter.com\/TFb06126fr<\/a><\/p>\r\n— BCCI (@BCCI) June 12, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n