The evening after the Indian team had its first outdoor session at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai after completing the 6-day mandatory quarantine, Virat Kohli and his teammates had their first net session on Tuesday morning as the team prepared for the first Test match against England, that begins from Friday.
INDIA vs ENGLAND - FULL COVERAGE
BCCI posted photos on social media and captioned it as: "Day 1 of our nets session in Chennai and it is Head Coach @RaviShastriOfc who welcomes the group with a rousing address."
Shastri, known for his boisterous voice from his days as a commentator and broadcaster, has the ability to rally the troops with his energetic messaging and he was seen doing the same with the group ahead of the first home series in over a year.
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{{/usCountry}}Indian captain Virat Kohli, who returns from paternity leave, also spoike to the teammates, who emerged victorious from a tough tour of Australia last month.
India has all its batting stars in the squad but is still missing some of their first choice pacers in Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. Mohammed Siraj's exception performance in Australia means he might get a look in along with Jasprit Bumrah and the season Ishant Sharma, who returns to the squad after recovering from an injury.
Spin is expected to be the main weapon at home and the onus will be on Ravichandran Ashwin in the absence of his spin twin Ravindra Jadeja, who continues to recover from a broken thumb.
Victory in this series will all but seal India's passage to the final of the World Test Championship.