No signs of discomfort for Pant, Gill shines; KL Rahul faces challenges without Sarfaraz: India's practice session before 2nd Test

India is gearing up to bounce back from the disappointing loss in Bengaluru last week as they aim to level the three-match series against New Zealand in Pune. During the team practice session at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, all players were in attendance except for one. The spotlight was on KL Rahul, who has been under scrutiny, and Rishabh Pant, who is currently nursing an injury, during the net session.

It was an injury-marred campaign for Pant in Bengaluru. On Day 2 of the match, while wicketkeeping, he injured the same knee where he underwent surgery in early 2023 following a car crash. He was rested the next day, but returned to score a valiant 99 on Day 4, before opting out of fielding duties on the final day.

With India wanting to be "extra careful" about Pant, as said by captain Rohit Sharma last week, especially with the more important Border-Gavaskar series coming up, there were talks around the management likely to rest the keeper and play Dhruv Jurel instead. But the India star shut the talk around his fitness following a long training session in Pune, as reported by Rev Sportz.

The report mentioned that Pant was merciless against the spinners during his batting session, with his trademark slog sweeps, with no apparent signs of discomfort. In fact, he did not have a strapping on his injured right knee as well, and he later underwent a 20-minute long keeping session under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir and fielding coach T Dilip.

The India batter's position in the line-up has been questioned after Sarfaraz Khan, who had to sit out in the Bangladesh series owing to Rahul's return to the format, scored 150 in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand after filling in for injured Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, Rahul, who was put against the second new ball on the fourth evening, returned with a score of 12 off 16, following a first-innings duck.

While experts reckoned that Rahul might have to sit out if Gill returned to the playing XI for the second Test, but India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told the media on Tuesday, "If you go on just the past three months since Gauti has been in here, he’s keen to give him (Rahul) as much rope as we can. We have a lot of faith in him."

“But at the same time, it’s a very competitive environment, with Sarfaraz getting 150 plus runs (222 not out) in the Irani Trophy final. The decision will be what’s best for the team, but we’ll certainly back all the guys in,” he added.

Despite the backing, while Rahul looked decent against the spinners in the net session, he visibly struggled against the likes of Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, and also while facing throwdowns, as mentioned in the report. However, his batting session was closely monitored by ten Doeschate.

Sarfaraz Khan, who became a father on Monday, skipped the training session on Tuesday and will be linking up with the Indian squad on Wednesday to train.

The India No. 3 had missed the opening Test owing to stiff neck. But he was the first to have arrived at the nets on Tuesday for a batting session, and later had an extended practice, facing throwdowns from ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar. He also had a short catching session with the fielding coach.