Uncapped pacers, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik have reportedly engaged in a ‘Net Battle’ in the presence of head coach Rahul Dravid. Both of them are keen to make their international debuts after getting maiden call-ups in the national team. The battle was held at nets on June 6, where Singh looked the most impressive. Rahul Dravid, who was watching the battle, was impressed with Arshdeep Singh as well.
The head coach conducted a training session on Monday ahead of the first T20I on June 9. Players such as Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Harshal Patel opted to sit out. On the other hand, stand-in skipper KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, etc sweat it out in the nets. Meanwhile, further reports suggest that Malik bowled a long spell but Singh looked more impressive.
The Jammu and Kashmir pacer was bashed by wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant in the nets. The former, on the other hand, tried to bowl with full speed. On the other hand, the left-arm medium-pacer practiced bowling the toe crushers. Notably, he was aiming to hit the baseball mint at the popping crease and an energy drinking was placed on the tramline for him to practice wide yorkers.
Notably, Umran Malik was asked to bowl a bit more by the team management. It indicates that the team doesn’t have the trust in his abilities yet. If these indications are true, Singh might get his T20I cap while Malik might have to wait. The five-match series between India and South Africa will start on June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The series will see the likes Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik making their comeback in the Indian team.
The duo hasn’t been part of the team either due to injury or lack of performance. Pandya last played for India in the 20-20 World Cup last year. On the other hand, Karthik last played in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Both will have a point to prove during the series.
