SA vs IND 2018: Bathing Time of Indian Players Cut Down to Two Minutes; Courtesy Drought
Updated - 06 Jul 2019, 06:46 PM
The members of the Indian cricket team and management have been asked not to take a shower for more than two minutes during the first Test, a report in News 18 suggests.
Cape Town is currently affected by a drought, and there is a scarcity of water in the state. It is just one off rules set down by the officials, as state officials had already laid down few restrictions on the usage of water.
The drought situation is also expected to have its impacts on the first Test, as the pitch might slow down due to less watering. It could very well change the strategy of the teams, as in this case, a team can play with an extra batsman rather than a pacer.
Indian team will be going with both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja if this will be the case.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are expected to be there in the playing XI with Hardik Pandya as the fourth pace option.
The permutation and combination may change on the morning of the match when Virat Kohli will have a look at the pitch. There can also be a case when Pandya might sit out for Rohit. The strategy will be finalized only on the morning of the match.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan is fit and will play the first Test. He will be opening the innings with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul, the third opener on tour, will warm the bench. Rahul would have begun with Vijay, had Dhawan been declared unfit.
Both Dhawan and Vijay are expected to open in all the three Test matches until and unless they suffer a slump in their form.
Talking of Jadeja, he is suffering from viral infection, and a decision over his inclusion will be taken over on the morning of the game. If he is deemed unfit, it would be a big blow for the side as he is expected to retain his place in the playing XI, no matter the pitch conditions.
Here are the news feeds –
Watch Rohit Sharma sweating out in the nets
Murali Vijay optimistic about his performance
Video of the day –
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Indian National Cricket Team Ravindra Jadeja Shikhar Dhawan
