Two days before the Namibia game, India’s training session in Delhi offered a glimpse into India’s prospects. Abhishek Sharma played the first group stage match against the USA, but he is battling a stomach-related illness.
India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that “Abhishek Sharma has still got a few issues with his tummy, we hope that he’ll be available for the game.” That is why he did not train with the team prior to the game.
If we go by the practice session at face value, then Abhishek might not play the Namibia Match. There will be another practice session, but India often practices with the full playing XI two days before the game. In this practice session, Ishan Kishan batted first, and then came Sanju Samson. They faced pace bowlers Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Arshdeep Singh. Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav batted in the spinner’s net. These four would probably make the top four of Indian players against Namibia.
Samson lost his place in the Indian team after a dramatic few weeks prior to the World Cup. He was struggling for runs, and at the same time, Ishan Kishan was having his career-best form. Both things coincided, and Samson lost his spot in the team just before the big tournament.
Here is what Ryan ten Doeschate had to say about it. “Look, I think at this level you need to be honest and transparent. I mean, the way the cards have fallen, I think Sanju’s had all the support that he could possibly have had.”
“He went through that phase where we tried him in the middle order, and then he obviously had the reprieve when he came back [to top]. And unfortunately, with the high level of cricket these guys play, when someone like Ishan comes in and has a series like he has, it’s pretty obvious what the selection is going to be for that first game. But we also understand that there’s probably five or six more games that you have to win and all 15 members are vitally crucial to our ambitions.”
Samson had a 30-minute session of fast bowling. He started tentatively and took a while before he could middle the ball properly. After some time, Samson and Ishan switched places, and Samson faced India’s left-arm throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne and the spin pair of Varun and Axar.
Another premier Indian player, Jasprit Bumrah, likely to make a comeback against Namibia. “Bumrah will bowl today, he’s been off 10 days without bowling, but he’s feeling a lot better and moving a lot better, so we’ll see how training goes for them and get the team together,” ten Doeschate added.
