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Watch: Laxman signals six after Pant smashes Chahar; Both players jump into debate after pacer disagrees with decision
Rishabh Pant and Deepak Chahar toiled hard during the net session ahead of India's opening game against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022.
Team India will return to action in the shortest format of the game on Sunday when it takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in a blockbuster Asia Cup 2022 encounter. This will be the first meeting between both sides since the last year's T20 World Cup (in men's cricket), when Babar Azam's men had secured a convincing 10-wicket win in Dubai. Incidentally, the upcoming game between both teams takes place at the same venue.
A lot has changed in the Indian team since the dismal loss against Pakistan last year, however. While Rohit Sharma succeeded Virat Kohli as captain of the side, the side saw an emergence of multiple young pacers in the squad over the past few months. Additionally, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik, two players who had been an integral part of the limited-overs squad a few years ago, also made an impressive comeback to the side in June earlier this year.
Team India landed in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and has since been taking part in the training sessions ahead of the electrifying game on Sunday. On Thursday, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant also took part in his first training session; towards the end of the net session, however, coach VVS Laxman set Pant a task – to hit Deepak Chahar for as many runs as possible in six deliveries.
The Indian pacer made some hypothetical fielding placements and began to bowl. Pant was beaten twice before he smashed Chahar for a couple of big hits; on the final delivery, Pant swung his bat again, this time towards mid-wicket. While Laxman raised both his hands to signal a six, Chahar wasn't too pleased with the decision and the two indulged in a friendly argument before Pant joined in, making gestures that seemingly suggested that he agreed with Laxman's decision.
Watch the light-hearted argument in a video shared by journalist Vimal Kumar on his official YouTube channel here:
Chahar is currently one of the standby players in the Asia Cup squad. He made his international return after over six months (away due to injury) in the ODI tour of Zimbabwe, and picked up five wickets in two appearances on the tour.
Pant, meanwhile, was rested for the tour but had been an integral part of Indian teams across all formats since the side's return to cricket after the 2022 Indian Premier League.
