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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said training with the two-coloured balls helps in eliminating white ball tendencies from the red ball game.
'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday returned to the country after mother Seema Gambhir had to be hospitalized due to health emergency.
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.
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.
On linking up with the squad, the former South Africa pacer was seen having a long chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir as the players did their warm-up drills at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
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.
After nearly a year away from the crease, Morne Morkel rolled up his sleeves and had a go with the ball, much to the delight of his players.
Since he took over, head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on multi-skilled players across formats, especially those who can add batting depth.
'Yeah, 100 per cent. That's a good question, and I think that's something we'll obviously reflect on after the tour, the things we could have done better.'
Prasidh Krishna has the ability to bowl "magic balls" and the pacer needs to be given an extended run to serve India for a long time, said bowling coach Morne Morkel in London on Sunday.
Soon after gently rolling his arm over in the field of play, Akash Deep cut a forlorn figure as uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna bowled full tilt at India's first outdoor training session ahead of the fourth Test.
Mohammed Siraj's match-winning spell in The Oval Test reminded us all what Test cricket -- and fast bowling -- is truly about: Discipline, endurance, and unwavering grit, says Aadharsh A V.
Siraj took a six wicket haul in the first innings and got rid of Zak Crawley in the final hour on day five.
Kagiso Rabada stamped his class on the biggest stage-rocking Australia and leapfrogging legends in the record books.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a promise to himself post the Australia tour that he would improve his bowling.
There is Ravindra Jadeja, whose superior batting becomes a huge factor in SENA countries but against England's 'Bazballers', Kuldeep Yadav's versatility could complement pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah better if India harbour any hopes of picking 20 wickets.
India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is up and running in Beckenham, putting in the hard yards before the upcoming five high-stakes Tests against England, slated to kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
The usually mobbed Indian cricket team likes training in a relaxed atmosphere and that was evident in their body language as the players went about their business in their only practice session at the Kent County Cricket Ground before the fourth Test in Manchester.
India bowling coach Morne Morkel says managing the workload of fast bowlers in a five-Test series can be an issue right after an IPL season.
'Jassi is a guy that immediately put his hand up and he wanted that leadership role.'
I expected seam and swing in England but on tracks like these only discipline helps: Akash Deep
Ahead of the third T20I against England in Rajkot, Vice-Captain Axar Patel stepped into an unexpected role: Team vlogger.
With India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014, the case for including a wicket-taking spinner like Kuldeep Yadav is stronger than ever for the must-win fifth and final Test against England.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up in Tests, featuring in 103 matches in which he scored 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 centuries.
A look back at a few memorable showdowns in the last decade and half that had the quintessential crests and troughs of Test cricket.
After a much-needed two-day respite, Team India returned to the training grounds with renewed vigour, setting their sights on a pivotal showdown against New Zealand on Sunday.
'He leads a lot of actions. And in this series so far, he's done it with the ball at times that we've needed somebody to put his hand up and create something.'
Here's a glimpse of India's new faces and veterans sweating it out...
The Indian players went through a gruelling training session ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting next week.
Here are the crunch moments that were series-defining and the contributions of the players who came of age during the English summer.
Shubman Gill, who has been India's stand out batter in the tournament, was the only one who did not turn up for practice.
Harshit Rana could pose a strong challenge to senior teammate Prasidh Krishna as they battle it out for the third pacer's slot in the India playing XI for the opening Test against Australia in Perth.
Morne Morkel, India's bowling coach, is delighted to have Mohammed Shami back in the squad and hinted at a possible return for the veteran pacer in the fifth T20 International against England in Mumbai on Sunday.
