Uruguay football stars try cricket at Eden Gardens before India clash
Uruguay team explores India's favourite sport before Salt Lake Stadium showdown
Uruguay have come to India to play football, but before facing the Blue Tigers, the two time World Cup winners decided to try something completely different.
Cricket.
The Uruguay national team visited the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, where several players picked up a bat and tried their hand at India’s most popular sport.
Former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira and Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo (who plays for Liverpool on loan this season) were among the players seen enjoying the cricket session. Uruguay also shared pictures and videos from the visit on their official social media accounts.
It was an unusual sight. Footballers who are used to playing in some of the biggest stadiums in the world were suddenly trying to understand how to hold a cricket bat and bowl a ball.
But the fun will stop soon.
Uruguay face India at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 6, completing a remarkable run of matches for the Indian team.
India have already tested themselves against two strong international sides.
They first held Panama to a 1-1 draw in Bengaluru before facing five time world champions Brazil in Kolkata.
India competed well for periods against Brazil, but eventually lost 4-0. Estevao and Pedro scored in the first half before Samuel Lino came off the bench and struck twice.
Now comes Uruguay.
The South American side have won the World Cup twice (1930 and 1950) and have brought several familiar names to India, including Araujo, Rodrigo Bentancur, Darwin Nunez and Torreira.
Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, however, did not travel after suffering an injury before the international break.
There is also a nice bit of history connecting Uruguay, India and Eden Gardens.
Uruguay played India at the famous Kolkata venue during the 1982 Nehru Cup, winning 3-1.
More than four decades later, the Uruguay team are back in Kolkata.
This time, before trying to beat India with a football, they decided to see what they could do with a cricket bat.
