Sachin Tendulkar resumes practice

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar, who sprained his right ankle on Wednesday, arrived for practice in the second session of the ongoing cricket conditioning camp on Thursday.

Tendulkar was likely to do a bit of knocking while other cricketers fine-tuned their catches, pick-ups and throws at the net session, which had to be shifted indoors due to unseasonal showers that lashed the metropolis.

Continuing their preparation ahead of the Bangladesh tour that begins next week, the Indians had an intense fielding and fitness session in the morning at the Eden Gardens.

There was hardly a moment of respite for the players as the freshly appointed coaching staff led by cricket manager Ravi Shastri saw to it that everyone had something to do all the time during the 100-minute drill.

Under new fielding coach Robin Singh, the Indian players spent about 45 minutes practising sharp pick-ups and throws in one action targeting a single stump.

Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad then gave high catch and ground fielding practice to the players, and youngster Manoj Tiwary got a pat from Robin for excelling in the session.

The showers, which started around 1:45 pm, however, put paid to the team management's plans for a net session on the Eden ground.

The exercise was relocated to the adjacent Pankaj Gupta Indoor stadium, where three pitches had been readied keeping such an eventuality in mind.