After the crushing victory over England [Images] in the second Test, the Indian team decided to take it easy on the eve of their three-day tour match against Sri Lanka [Images] 'A', beginning on Friday, in Leicester.

Most of the players stayed away from the two-hour practice session, which was optional for those who played in the Trent Bridge match.

Yuvraj Singh [Images], Gautam Gambhir [Images], Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose, Wasim Jaffer and Ramesh Powar got down to practice as captain Rahul Dravid [Images], who arrived for the last hour, checked out the conditions and oversaw the session.

Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh put the players through the paces.

Prasad had a long stint with young pacer Sharma, explaining to the Delhi pacer how important it is to bowl a good line and length while making the batsman play as much as possible. He also worked on Sharma's run-up after the youngster kept overstepping the bowling crease.

Bose sent down quite a good spell and Robin Singh time and again applauded his bowling.

Both the bowlers will get a chance to prove themselves against the Sri Lankans, who will be led by Thilan Samaraweera. The squad also boasts of a few Test players in Michael Vandort, Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Rangana Herath.

Surprisingly, pacer S Sreesanth [Images] was missing from the session. The Kerala [Images] speedster struggled to find his rhythm in the second Test and a session in the nets may have done him some good.

Pacer Zaheer Khan [Images], who has bowled the bulk of the overs in the two Tests, is expected to be rested along with Sachin Tendulkar [Images], Sourav Ganguly [Images], VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble.

Prasad said it is a good opportunity for the young players to make their mark.

"I am not saying it is going to be a weak game. It is a good opportunity for few of the bowlers who have not played on this tour. It is a good opportunity for Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh to get in there and stay there and push for a place in the team.

"We would like to take this opportunity and look to perform to the best of our abilities. Again, it's a different place, different conditions and you keep learning and that is how you look at it," he said.

Robin Singh too stressed that the team will look to maintain its winning momentum in the match.

"First of all, you got to make sure that you maintain the rhythm. There are a lot of the guys who have sat out and it is pretty sure that they will play in this game, so it is a good opportunity for them to exhibit their talents here.

"We have got some good potential," Singh said.

The three-day outing provides a good opportunity for the Indians to try out the youngster in the side and also keep the momentum going. A good showing against the Sri Lankans will be a huge boost ahead of the third Test at Oval.

Photographs: Harish Kotian