Kirsten said it's good to have Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid back in the team as they are quality players with lot of experience which would hugely benefit the squad.
Coach Gary Kirsten had candidly admitted that he couldn’t connect with his players during the World T20 as he was given little time with them ahead of the event with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the New Zealand tour preceding it in a packed calendar.
An equally hectic session lies ahead. The maiden one-day Corporate Trophy will once again see Team India players turning out for different teams ahead of an international assignment that kick-starts a hectic season.
Kirsten is confident he can touch base with his boys and hopes to derive long-lasting benefits from this short four-day camp. “It is important for us to get back on track. It is time to up the intensity,” Kirsten said on Thursday.
The 56-day break officially ended on Thursday. Day One of the preparatory camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was an indoor affair, which saw players, heading for the tri-series and the Champions Trophy, being individually reviewed by coach Kirsten. Their physical fitness levels were accessed at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), following a group meeting at the team hotel in the morning.
The centre wicket at the NCA ground was given a final touch-up and so were the practice wickets. On Friday, the team will practice outdoors with the pre-lunch session beginning at 10 am.
“I am very happy with the results today (Thursday) based on what we had, say two weeks ago. There has been significant improvement (fitness levels) from every player, which means they are taking it seriously. Players have realised that it is a part of their game they want to improve. We will do some more assessments as we go closer to the tri-series.”
Talking about how important it was for a team to pull together, something that didn’t happen at the World Twenty20, the coach said: “One of the things we have prided since playing in Australia was that we were playing as a team and that we were playing for a big cause - Team India. We had a set back in the T20 World Cup. But it can happen to any World class team. We are looking forward and we are looking at what we can achieve. The team spirit and the team unity are as good as it has ever been.”
The coach reviewed the performance of the team over the past year. “The one-day team has an 80 per cent win ratio I believe. We take pride in our consistency. We would like to continue that.”
However, Sri Lanka and South Africa present contrasting conditions and challenges and Kirsten knows he needs different blueprints.
“We have to prepare differently. The time during which we prepare in South Africa is very important. We play only from September 26 in South Africa so there it gives us sufficient time as well. But I would say the conditions here are not too far off from Sri Lanka.”
The coach also welcomed the return of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar into the squad but didn’t believe the younger Indian batsmen had trouble against the shorter ball.
“It happened in just one Twenty20 game. I think we have enough quality players who have performed over an extended period of time.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}