Kohli & Co. take pink ball throwdowns in between red ball nets

Indore: Skipper Virat Kohli had his first experience of negotiating a pink ball as Indian cricketers took turns to get used to the new colour during the net session ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on Thursday.

The Indian team did not train under the lights and the throwdowns with the SG pink ball was part of the traditional red-ball practice session.

Usually, three adjacent nets are placed — for pacers, spinner and throwdowns — for Indian team's practice. However, on team's request, the throwdown-net was created on the other side of the ground on separate practice turfs with a black sight-screen.

It was skipper Kohli, who first faced the pink ball.

With throwdown specialists Raghavendra and Sri Lankan Nuwan Senaviratne hurling the pink stuff at express pace, the skipper looked comfortable. He looked more intent on playing defensive shots.

Once Kohli was done and went into the main nets, the other top-order batsmen including Cheteshwar Pujara mixed and matched, facing red and pink ball simultaneously.

Young reserve opener Shubman Gill seemed to have taken a hit when one of the deliveries bounced extra but it was not serious.

The Indian team will get only two full training days ahead of their first day/night Test at the Eden Gardens, starting November 22.

Aware that not much time is in hand, the BCCI had arranged a couple of pink ball sessions under lights for the Test specialists like Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Pujara, Mohammed Shami at the NCA under Rahul Dravid's guidance.

Meanwhile, recovering from a hamstring injury and a side strain, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar assessed himself for a comeback when he participated in a "skill session" during Indian team's practice ahead of the series-opener against Bangladesh.

The Indian team management seem to have taken charge of Bhuvneshwar's final phase of rehabilitation.

Bhuvneshwar's injury has been a concern for the Indian team since he came back from the West Indies after the limited overs series. He followed a rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy.

"Bhuvi is here for a skill session with the team. The team management just wants him to get into the groove," a team source said. He had a catching session with fielding coach R Sridhar and then participated briefly in the net session. He bowled a few deliveries from full run-up but it was evident that he wasn't going full tilt.

With Khaleel Ahmed a work in progress and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's workload a priority for the team management, a fit-again Bhuvneshwar is a necessity in this set-up with his experience and variations in the shortest format.