‘Men in blue’ and their childish ways

The Indian team's net session tends to remind you of little kids playing in the streets with the constant chirping all around.

The Indian team’s net session tends to remind you of little kids playing in the streets with the constant chirping all around, the cheers each time a good shot is played or a batsman gets foxed, the little squabbles over minor issues: Would that ball have gone for four? Was the batsman leg-before? This kind of match simulation, either planned or otherwise have helped players react to situations as they happen out in the centre as well.

For example, Ishant Sharma is troubling VVS Laxman with his inswing — and chiding him to play his trademark wristy glances. On the other side of the net, Amit Mishra is teasing Virender Sehwag with his loop, asking him to hit the ball over long-on.

As far as the net sessions go, each player has their own little quirks as well. Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t like to bat in the nets before a match — he is content to just knock the ball around, asking one of the support staff to throw down specific types of deliveries at him.

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Zaheer Khan has been known to skip training two days before a Test match, but he surprisingly makes it a point to have a long bowl at the main batsmen on the eve of the game, a day when bowlers usually prefer to take it light.

Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh believe in the conventional theories while Amit Mishra ensures he bowls long spells each time, every day. The skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, uses the nets not just to fine-tune his batting, but also likes to test his bowling skills against the top Indian batsmen.

The Indian team nets can be quite an education: there may be clues in there as to the team’s plans; then again, opening bowlers have been known to have a hit first and that can’t mean anything important.

Helping all of them around, of course, are the enthusiastic, upcoming cricketers. Their reward for bowling relentlessly… a few photographs, and bottles of Gatorade energy drinks.