IND vs SA 2021-22: Indians train by playing Footvolley, Rohit Sharma gives pep-talk to U-19 players at NCA
Team India has arrived in South Africa. It trained on Day 1 playing the Footvolley. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is having his rehab at the NCA while giving a pep talk to the U-19 players.
FollowThe Indian cricket team has arrived in South Africa. It landed in Johannesburg on Thursday. After a day's of rigid quarantine, it began its training sessions from Saturday. As for its training, it was a light one, involving some standard pull and push-ups, while they played a game of Footvolley to keep themselves fit.
In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its social media handles, the Indians and head coach Rahul Dravid are seen taking part in the Footvolley game. The Indians are staying in a resort entirely booked for them. Also, since it is not a regular five-star hotel, they have enough space to move around the property.
Speaking on their stay so far, team strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai stated, "We have had three days of hard quarantine in Mumbai and ten hours of a long flight and yesterday was again a hard quarantine here. So, starting our skill sessions would have been a high risk for the guys. So, they just went for a run, stretched out and sweated it out, and this game will help bridge the gap between inactivity and skill sessions, which we start tomorrow."
"Also, the schedule is such that we have to get going right away. We can only do so much. The elevation here is 1,400 metres, and we are coming from sea level. So, the guys will take two-three days to adapt. This game can now be called the Indian cricket team game. We give them many other options, but they end up choosing Footvolley. They love it, and they have had their battles within the team for years now. It helps them focus on the game and stay in a happy place," he added. Watch the video below.
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On the other hand, senior Indian opener, Test vice-captain and One-Day International (ODI) skipper Rohit Sharma is currently doing his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Due to a hamstring injury, he has been ruled out of the Test series, starting December 26 for the Freedom Trophy. Meanwhile, during his rehab at the NCA, he interacted with the U-19 team, having its camp ahead of the ACC U-19 Asia Cup and the ICC U-19 World Cup next year.
