India will be bolstered by the return of former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - both of whom have retired from Test cricket - adding more depth and experience to the side.
Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing first Test against South Africa after he continues to be under observation in a Kolkata hospital for a neck injury.
Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has revealed that a lot of green smoothies have helped him improve his fitness.
India suffered a major pre-match blow in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan as star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the title-deciding clash in Dubai due to a niggle.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
And ahead of the 4th Test, some members of the Indian team went all out at a gym training session.
This happened following India's practice session that saw both India's senior batters hit the nets at the Optus Stadium.
The others to arrive after a delayed flight were K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy along with some members of the support staff.
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
Gill stretchered out with neck injury; ''just bad timing'', says Morne Morkel
Abhishek Sharma's flamboyance will meet its match in Shaheen Shah Afridi's precision in what promises to be an "edge of the seat" battle in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
The focus is to bring momentum back into the Indian dressing room: Morne Morkel
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
Calling Kuldeep a world-class spinner, Morkel said India are trying to fit the wily operator into the side. He can now only play the last Test at The Oval from July 31.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
India's pace great Zaheer Khan is reportedly set to part ways with Lucknow Super Giants after just one season as their mentor.
With the much-anticipated Group A clash against arch-rivals Pakistan looming, India is sparing no effort in their training sessions, honing skills and strategising tactics.
'Pretty amazing. The whole tournament, we remained unbeaten, it feels pretty amazing to be in this position.'
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel expects the batting unit to lift its performance under pressure in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
'Tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm-up, get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area and create a little bit of excitement again.'
Defending champions India had a full-fledged practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday as they put the finishing touches to their Asia Cup preparations.
It is not clear whether Morne Morkel will rejoin the squad later during the Champions Trophy.
The 'Impact Player' in IPL might have restricted Chennai Super Kings' Shivam Dube's role but 'India's Shivam Dube' aspires to be a full-fledged all-rounder backed by head coach Gautam Gambhir and helped by bowling coach Morne Morkel.
Team India wasted no time in getting their preparations underway as they kicked off their first training session at Lord's a few hours after their arrival in London on Saturday.
Harshit Rana has been included in the India Test squad as a cover and travelled with the rest of the team via train to reach Leeds
Shivam Dube remains a vital cog in India's T20 set-up and bowling coach Morne Morkel wants the Mumbai all-rounder to step up as a back-up medium pacer ahead of the T20 World Cup, in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir's philosophy of packing the XI with multi-skilled cricketers.
'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel outlined 'consistency' as a crucial aspect for the visitors to thrive in the upcoming five-Test series against England.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said training with the two-coloured balls helps in eliminating white ball tendencies from the red ball game.
The Oval will host the fifth and final Test between India and England from Thursday, and the Indian team has hit the ground running two days after staging a remarkable comeback to draw the fourth match in Manchester.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday returned to the country after mother Seema Gambhir had to be hospitalized due to health emergency.
Seldom has an India vs Pakistan clash played with such a volatile backdrop, where cricket seems inseparably knotted with off-field tension, provocative gestures, and fines slapped on both camps.
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
