India train behind closed doors

Hosts put through their paces in first training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai ahead of busy season in the presence of head coach and new support staff

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HAVING arrived in batches over the last couple of days, the Indian team had a closed-door training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. With less than a week to go for the first Test against Bangladesh, the Indian team, coached by Gautam Gambhir, were put through their paces, perhaps for the first time since all the support staff were appointed.

While assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate travelled with Gambhir to Sri Lanka, the latest appointment was bowling coach Morne Morkel, who was with the team on Friday.

Pretty much the entire squad was present including Rohit Sharma, who landed on Thursday night. Virat Kohli, whose last Test on home soil was against Australia last March, was one of the last to arrive as he landed on Friday. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav, players who can already be considered as locks to feature in the first Test on Thursday, were also present.

Among the players who were not at the venue was Sarfaraz Khan, currently in Anantapur, playing the second round of Duleep Trophy for India B.