Disrupted by crowd behaviour during their Adelaide practice, Team India has barred open training for the rest of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, after 5,000 fans caused distractions with chatter and photo requests.
In contrast, Australia will continue holding open training sessions, while India’s practice sessions will now only allow media personnel.
“A source close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India indicated that players were also subjected to requests for selfies while they were batting, constant commentary of their actions in close proximity and some were mocked or laughed at after missing the ball or getting out,” a report by The Age read.
“India have expressed a preference for their remaining training sessions not to be open to the public to minimise potential noise or distractions,” a CA spokesperson told The Age.
Although no reports of player-fan conflicts have surfaced, Team India remains cautious about potential escalation. Memories linger of the 2011-12 Australia tour, where Rohit Sharma and Praveen Kumar had a notorious altercation with a fan during a Melbourne net session after the fan directed abuse at the now-Indian captain.
“Completely unfamiliar… not accustomed to it”- Team India’s KL Rahul on crowded practice sessions
The Indian team is accustomed to the constant attention from fans, but batter KL Rahul admitted his surprise at the massive crowd gathered to watch their practice sessions ahead of the pink-ball Test.
“Very different. Not used to it. We have practice with crowds but it’s mostly T20 and ODIs back home, we’ve had crowds come in and watch our practice sessions.”
“So it felt a little different but also it adds to your preparation for the Test match and gives us a bit of what we can expect on day one or all the days here in Adelaide, so it was good,” KL Rahul said during a press conference (via The Age).
The second Test of the India-Australia series is set to begin on Friday, December 6, at the Adelaide Oval. The Men in Blue enter the day-night match with a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
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