Picture Credit: BCCI
The Indian team has had a forgettable start to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. While they were said to be the favourites in their opening clash against Pakistan in the tournament, they faced a comprehensive 10-wicket defeat against their arch-rivals.
However, a week-long break seems to have given them just enough time to get that defeat out of their minds and start afresh ahead of their next game against New Zealand. To help them unwind and get mentally ready for the encounter against the BlackCaps, the members of the Indian cricket team played a match of volleyball.
The video of the same was shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their social media page. "A game of beach volleyball as #TeamIndia unwinds in their day off! ? ? #T20WorldCup," the video was captioned.
Check out the video here:
Meanwhile, with India desperate for a win over New Zealand, all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen bowling in the nets on Wednesday. Later reports confirmed that he would be undergoing a second net-test on Friday before a call on his selection in the Playing XI will be taken based on the balance of the squad.
While several cricket experts and pundits have claimed Pandya's selection purely as a batter to be a mistake by the Indian team management, some like Harbhajan Singh want Hardik to remain in the side even if he is unable to bowl. He reckons that the Mumbai Indians star has a rare ability to hit sixes from his first ball which is needed to bat at the death.
He also added that there is no tested replacement of a batter at Hardik's position lower down the order. While Shardul Thakur could be looked at as an option, batting in T20 cricket with top fielders guarding the fences during the end overs could be a different ball game than counter-attacking in Test match cricket where the field is up.
It remains to be seen who makes the cut in the Indian Playing XI on Sunday but the Men in Blue would want to put their best foot forward when they meet New Zealand- a team which has a better record against them in ICC events.