Asia Cup: Mahendra Singh Dhoni Skips Practice Ahead of Pakistan Clash
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is suffering from back spasms, and the injury-prone Ashish Nehra did not take part in India's pre-match training session ahead of Asia Cup clash against Pakistan
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: February 27, 2016 12:26 PM IST
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India captain, and veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on Friday did not come for the pre-match training after being advised rest ahead of the crucial Asia Cup Twenty20 game against Pakistan, here on Saturday. (History Favours India in Asia Cup 2016 Blockbuster vs Pakistan)
While Dhoni is suffering from back spasms, the injury-prone Nehra has his own specific training programme, which is different from the general team routine. (Asia Cup 2016: Virat Kohli Asserts His Dominance Over Pakistan in Twenty20 Internationals)
Dhoni had played through pain against Bangladesh but back spasms need adequate recovery time, which is specifically the reason he has been given 48 hours to recuperate before the Pakistan match. (Asia Cup 2016: All Eyes on Mohammad Amir as India Clash With Pakistan)
His cover Parthiv Patel had his first training session but had precious little to do as he did not get to bat in the main nets. Unless Dhoni's physical condition deteriorates further, Parthiv's chances of playing are minimal.
There was one interesting sight during the training session on the match-eve. Both India and Pakistan trained adjacent to each other inside the main stadium at the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium and trained at the same time between 4-6:30 pm local time. But during the entire two and half-hour training session, no pleasantries were exchanged between the members of the two sides.
Call it strange, there were four nets set-up on the four centre strips of the main stadium. In the first two nets, it was the Indian batsmen and in the next two were their Pakistani counterparts.