The Indian team have banned open training sessions following an uncomfortable experience during one such session ahead of the Adelaide Test. Read more here.
To the delight of fans in and around the Adelaide area, India's training session on Tuesday (December 3) was open to the public and adoring spectators began to fill the seats at the Adelaide Oval. Estimates from the venue placed the total turnout at close to 5000 people.
India were training during the evening hours in order to get accustomed to playing with the pink ball under lights, as they gear up for the day/night Test which begins at this venue on Friday (December 6).
Read more: Can Ben Stokes face sanctions for his Instagram story on England's WTC point deduction?
But according to a report from The Age, India's experience with the open training session has led to the team management requesting that two planned sessions – ahead of the third and fifth Tests in Brisbane and Sydney respectively – be called off. The training session ahead of the fourth Test in Melbourne will be open as the nets are located in a public space.
The Indian team is not used to fans being allowed into their training sessions. For home Tests, there is no such allowance – although spectators are often present before limited-overs internationals as well as IPL matches.
A spokesperson from Cricket Australia said that "India have expressed a preference for their remaining training sessions not to be open to the public to minimise potential noise or distractions," and the aforementioned report refers to a BCCI source claiming that players were inundated with selfie requests from fans while they were batting, as well as mockery, laughter and constant commentary on their actions coming from beyond the boundary.
The Times of India also reported that the crowd was too close to the action, citing a BCCI source as saying, "They were literally next to the nets. (It) could have been handled better. The regular chants, demeaning remarks, requests for selfies and all don't help when players are trying to train hard."
During a press conference on Wednesday, India batter KL Rahul was asked about the experience of the open training session, to which he said, "[It was] Very different. We have practice with crowds, but it's mostly T20s and ODIs back home [where] we've had crowds come in and watch our practice sessions.
"It felt a little different, but it also adds to your preparation for the Test match and gave us a little bit of what we can expect on day one – or all the days – here in Adelaide, so it was good."
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
