GEARING UP
Shubman Gill was recently unwell and was resting in Chandigarh © Getty
Shubman Gill is headed to the National Cricket Academy’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for a fitness test. Ahead of the Asia Cup, the India Test captain and T20I vice-captain is understood to have reached Bengaluru on Friday (August 29) evening for the mandatory assessment that all Asia Cup-bound players are required to undergo.
It is not clear when exactly Gill will undergo the fitness tests at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) facility, but presumably it will be over the next few days. It is likely that Gill will fly to the UAE for the Asia Cup directly from Bengaluru.
Gill was recently unwell and was resting in Chandigarh, the very reason for which he had to miss the ongoing Duleep Trophy inter-zonal red-ball competition. After recovering, he resumed practice in his hometown for a few days before flying to Bengaluru on Friday.
The Indian team, meanwhile, will assemble in Dubai on September 4. The players will not leave en bloc from one location, as is normally the practice, and instead will fly separately from their respective bases, reaching Dubai in time for the first practice session.
The team management is understood to have scheduled the first net session for September 5. Although the venue for the nets has not been specified, in all likelihood it will be held at the ICC Academy in Dubai. The Indian team trained at that very venue during their successful Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year.
The Indian team, having recently finished a Test series in England, has been short on practice in the Twenty20 format. However, apart from India, every other team has started preparation. Pakistan, Afghanistan and UAE are involved in a tri-series in Sharjah.
Sri Lanka are involved in a bilateral series in Zimbabwe currently (two ODIs followed by three T20Is). Bangladesh were recently involved in a T20I series against Pakistan. Oman and Hong Kong, the other two competing sides, are understood to have already reached UAE and are engaged in friendly matches.
The Asia Cup starts on September 9. India’s first match is against UAE on September 10.
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