Rishabh Pant still in discomfort, seen limping day after knee injury; skips wicketkeeping practice

Rishabh Pant looked in discomfort on Monday as he skipped his wicketkeeping training.

The Indian team had their second training session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Monday, ahead of their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh. While Rishabh Pant recovered from the freak injury during the first training session on Sunday, putting him out of danger for the ICC tournament, he looked in discomfort on Monday as he skipped his wicketkeeping training.

Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant during a training session(PTI)

As Hardik Pandya honed his big-hitting skills on Sunday, taking on spinners in the net session, one of those powerful shots struck Pant on his knee. The team physio, Kamlesh Jain, immediately attended him while the all-rounder came out to check on Pant. However, it did not turn out to be a serious issue as Pant soon padded up after the first set of batters wrapped up their training session.

But on Monday, Pant appeared to struggle during India's second net session in Dubai and limped slightly, according to a report in PTI. He skipped the wicketkeeping and fielding practice and looked rusty when he came to bat, missing and edging several deliveries.

KL Rahul gears up for finisher's role

Head coach Gautam Gambhir may have backed the Karnataka star as India's first-choice wicketkeeper for the Champions Trophy, but there is no confirmation on whether he will bat at No. 5 or 6 in the line-up. Hence, Rahul took it upon himself to hone his finishing skills as he focused on big-hitting shots during India's second training in Dubai. Known for his technical approach, Rahul appeared to shift gears as he focused on playing aggressive shots and cleared the ropes with ease, practising sixes off almost every delivery.

Set to bat at No. 5 or 6, Rahul will play a significant role in the final over, where he might be needed to accelerate the innings, and hence, his focus on range-hitting will be of utmost importance to India.

Shreyas Iyer, too, worked on his big-hitting skills, while Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma looked in sublime touch with a range of elegant strokes.