ADELAIDE: India have imposed a ban on open training and net sessions for the remainder of the five-match away Test series against Australia after fans flooded the touring team’s training session on Wednesday.
According to reports, the touring team felt uncomfortable when more than 5,000 fans gathered to watch them practice. Fans sang and tried to take selfies with famous cricketers, including Virat Kohli.
Open training sessions are a cherished tradition in Australia. This overwhelming turnout, however, became a struggle for the Indian team, who expressed dissatisfaction with the situation.
Opener KL Rahul, who played a key role in the first Test, commented: “It’s different; We are not used to this. At home, fans are mostly present during T20 and ODI training sessions.”
“So it was a little bit different, but it also adds to your preparation for the Test match and gives us a little bit of what we can expect on the first day or every day here in Adelaide, so that was good,” he added.
A senior official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) termed the open net and training sessions as ‘complete chaos’ and revealed that the players also faced rude and insensitive comments.
“It was complete chaos. During the Australian training session, no more than 70 people attended, but during the Indian session, more than 3,000 attended. Nobody predicted such numbers.”
“There was another fans day scheduled in Sydney (before the fifth Test) but it was canceled because the players were upset by rude and insensitive comments made here.
“Virat (Kohli) and Shubman Gill could have been surrounded by so many people around. Some fans were doing a Facebook live and talking loudly as the scouts took position. A fan persistently asked a player to say ‘hi’ in Gujarati, while another cricketer faced body shaming.
As a result, the BCCI formally requested Cricket Australia (CA) to refrain from similar open sessions in Brisbane and Sydney.
The second Test between Australia and India will take place at the Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
Sohail Imran is a senior reporter at Geo News.
