Published: Nov 05, 2016, 02:11 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 05, 2016, 02:11 PM (IST)
Rajkot: Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, arrived on Saturday morning for the first game of the five-match Test series against England, starting at Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium at Khandheri from November 9. Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra arrived around 8.25 am along with Kohli and other team members, SCA media manager Himanshu Shah said. Local players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja have joined the team while Hardik Pandya would come by road and join the team within a couple of hours, Shah said. Kohli, who turns 28 on Saturday, is likely to celebrate his birthday at Hotel Imperial where the Indian team has been put up. Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma accompanied Kohli, Shah said. Meanwhile, a large number of cricket lovers gathered at the Rajkot airport with cakes and gifts for Kohli. However, the Indian skipper headed straight to the hotel alongwith the actress. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs England, 1st Test at Rajkot
Bracing up for what is expected to be a grueling Test series, visiting England cricketers had their first full net session at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai after arriving from Bangladesh two days ago. The marathon training and net practice session lasted for close to four hours with all the 16 members of the squad taking part in it although the session was “an optional” one. Initially only a few members, including captain Alastair Cook, were scheduled to take part in the session on Friday to be followed by a full session on Saturday before the team’s departure to Rajkot for the opening Test of the five-Test series against India beginning November 9.
