INDIA HOPING TO FIND RIGHT PACE

Kamboj in limelight with Akash Deep's fitness still an issue as Gill and Co train ahead of the Manchester game

- FIROZ MIRZA @MANCHESTER

Unlike Sunday, it was a bright and sunny morning here at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Monday. The surface, which had been under cover due to rain, probably saw the sunlight for the first time in many days.

Despite it being a cheerful day with a lot of happenings on the field, India pacer Akash Deep looked seemingly lost in his thoughts. He was leaning on a roller with padded-up Abhimanyu Easwaran and Dhruv Jurel to his company even as other India pacers were whizzing past him to bowl in the nets at the Trafford Cricket Centre. Be it Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Siraj or Shardul Thakur or Prasidh Krishna or new addition to the squad Anshul Kamboj, everybody was going full throttle. The pacers were also seen chatting with Akash Deep while waiting for their turn to bowl; but the Bengal bowler's mind seemed to be somewhere else.

Earlier, he bowled quite a few balls on the surface adjacent to the main square with coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and a few others in attendance. Starting with zero run up, he gradually increased it to gain the momentum and pace. But that was it once the team members shifted to adjoining practice nets. Akash Deep, who reportedly has a groin injury casting a teammates toiled.