Team India held an optional training session on Friday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, two days before the start of their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan. Most of the top players like Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant were absent from the training session, but captain Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik and Deepak Hooda were among the few cricketers who did hit the nets. And eyes were entirely on the India skipper, who had a rather special training session for the blockbuster Pakistan match.
Rohit has been vulnerable against left-arm pacers, among the most famous of his dismissals against the variety being exactly 12 months back by Shaheen Afridi. Rohit was dismissed for a golden duck.
Rohit would have hoped for a practice before the World Cup face-off, at the Asia Cup, but the star pacer was out of the tournament with an injury.
On Friday, at the optional training session, Rohit practiced against throw downs by a left-armer. He was also trying to not play against those deliveries with a horizontal bat.
Earlier this week, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Shaheen had revealed how he had plotted Rohit's dismissal at the Dubai International Stadium in the 2021 T20 World Cup meeting.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier this week, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Shaheen had revealed how he had plotted Rohit's dismissal at the Dubai International Stadium in the 2021 T20 World Cup meeting.
{{/usCountry}}“I had observed that Rohit Sharma struggles against the inswing, at that yorker length. In 2021, most of my dismissals were with that length. So I thought to myself, if that's my strength why not use it against him in the first ball that bowl to him,” he said.