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The Indian team had started practice for the first Test against South Africa starting on December 26 but the media was also not allowed to watch the session. Shubman Gill had good batting practice by scoring a century in the match played between the teams. Gill, who came in at number three, scored a century on the second day of the three-day match.
The media was also kept outside the Tux Oval ground in Pretoria. The venue is a 45-minute drive from Centurion’s SuperSport Park, which is hosting the first Test. In an attempt to keep their strategy a secret, India head coach Rahul Dravid and the team management did not allow outsiders inside the ground.
Football teams around the world practice behind closed doors with the media only allowed to watch warm-ups. After the coach arrives, they have to leave as soon as the actual practice begins. The Indian cricket team has been adopting the occasional ‘closed door practice’ strategy for quite some time now.
Apart from Shubman Gill, Yashaswi Jaiswal also scored a half century. He retired to give others a chance. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s finger injury is yet to fully heal and he may not be available for selection in the first Test. Gaikwad suffered a finger injury during the second ODI and was unable to play the third ODI.
India’s Test Team: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rituraj Gaekwad, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), the famous Krishna.