Chester-le-Street (Durham): Some of the top fielding sides in world cricket like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa play rugby as warm-up. The Indian team in England took it a step further on Tuesday and improvised the rugby warm-up using the cricket ball.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of players using an innovative method apparently brought into India's practice sessions by the coaching staff.
The players had to carry the ball, through seven passes, and deposit it in a small circle marked inside the field some distance away from them.
The players, however, weren't allowed to use both their hands.
Also, while they could catch with either hand, they couldn't pass it with the same hand.
"You have to run and catch the ball. It is a simple game. The hand with which you catch, you have to throw with the opposite hand," said a member of the team support staff.
"After the seventh pass, the ball should land inside that area. The ball has to be kept in that area, you can drop it, place it there," he added.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who bats at No. 3 in the Indian Test side, explained it in the video, "You have to catch the ball with either hand and have to throw with the opposite hand and if you get touched you are out. You have to have seven passes and the ball has to drop in the middle [small circle]."
While India were fine in the field in the World Test Championship final, dropping only a couple of catches on the final day, their catching and outfielding has been a cause for concern in recent times.
