Kolkata: Ajinkya Rahane, who led India to a historic Test series win in Australia earlier this year, and veteran leg spinner Amit Mishra were among the early birds for Delhi Capitals who hit the nets after completing their week-long quarantine period in Mumbai. The upcoming season of IPL will be held across six cities of the country from April 9.
Rahane, who had a break after the Test series against England as he is not a part of the white ball squad, said: “I batted for the first time in 20 days. We came out after being in quarantine for seven days, so I was just looking to get into the groove and get into a good rhythm. And as we get closer to the tournament, it will be all about maintaining that good rhythm and momentum.”
Mishra, a former international and the second highest wicket-taker after Lasith Malinga in the history of IPL, said: “All the boys are looking good here on the field. They are all ready to put in the hard yards and it’s nice to see the youngsters practicing hard as well.”
The 38-year-old added that apart from honing his bowling rhythm, he is focusing on improving his batting as well, “I am working on my batting. The coaches have also told me to keep practising my batting as there might be situations in matches when I will have to string partnerships of 25-30 runs. We need to be ready for everything. Basically, if I am batting with a recognized batsman, then I should focus on taking singles and giving the strike to my partner.”
