Tuesday at a nearby facility was the first training session for the majority of the India team following their arrival in New York City in advance of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The lone player who hasn’t arrived in New York yet is Virat Kohli, who may be questionable for India’s one warm-up match before the main competition on June 1 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium against Bangladesh. The BCCI has not yet provided an update on his travel status.
With the exception of Hardik Pandya, who arrived after a break, the team has journeyed to New York in batches. Players from teams ousted from the IPL 2024 league stage have gone first, and they have been joined by players whose teams were eliminated from the playoffs as and when they were eliminated.
The players, who have all been involved in the IPL 2024 grind for the past few months, are gradually becoming match-ready, according to Soham Desai, the team’s strength and conditioning coach. “Eased into our routines here, the idea was to just get used to the time zone,” he said in a video that the BCCI shared on social media.
As of yet, we haven’t played cricket. Today, we’ve come here for a team-building exercise,” stated Jasprit Bumrah. “Hopefully, it turns out well. The weather is excellent. therefore anticipating.”
The players warmed up, ran, performed some light strength and conditioning exercises, then engaged in some football drills.
“They haven’t been with us [the national team setup] for two and a half months. The purpose of the Tuesday meeting, according to Desai, was just to bring everyone together to determine where they stand and what needs to be done before the World Cup. “[The objective is to] spend 45 to an hour in the park in order to regain momentum.
“We’re hoping they’ll relocate. In order for us to prepare enough for each player to be ready for the opening game, we would prefer to see them run.
After the IPL, Hardik took a short rest before rejoining the team. He talked about the “good vibe” of playing in a new place, while Ravindra Jadeja anticipated having “super, super fun” and Suryakumar Yadav thought the first day out “was amazing.”
India’s World Cup debut will take place on June 5 against Ireland. Then, on June 9, they will play Pakistan in the group stage; on June 12, they will play the USA; and on June 15, they will play Canada. The last game will take place in Lauderhill, Florida, after the first three being held in New York.