By: BCCI
It is that time of the year in Dharamsala. Not the time when the mountains are completely snow capped but the time when the mountains are shining in full glow under a bright sun cover. It definitely makes for fine viewing; a landscape that urges you to feast your eyes as much as possible and yet feel fresh when you have taken your eyes off it. Under such a quaint setting, Team India made their way this afternoon to the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamsala to get a taste of the conditions ahead of their first T20I against South Africa on the 2nd of October.
The team went through its regular drills of warming up and taking a few high catches at the boundary ropes. Some catches won the appreciation of fielding coach R Sridhar and bowling coach Bharat Arun who went no holds barred with their fielding drills. Amidst all the action, Team India Director Ravi Shastri walked out to the center of the pitch and looked to be enquiring about the conditions with the chief curator of the venue. Once done, he walked back to his chair and kept a watchful eye on all the proceedings.
India captain MS Dhoni who is back at the helm of affair in the shorter formats looked at ease sharing a laugh or two with his fellow team mates. The team also involved itself in a round of football towards the end of the session even as the shadows started becoming longer. The evening was slowly setting in and the conditions had gotten much pleasant. A stark contrast to how it was during the start of the practice session.
Virat Kohli, walking back after his game of football stopped by the boundary ropes and spoke to BCCI.TV about his admiration for the beautiful venue. “Dharamsala has always been one of the most beautiful grounds in the world,” Kohli said. “It is always a great feeling to come here and see the view from the ground. You don’t get to see this view anywhere apart from maybe Cape Town in South Africa. It gives you a really good feeling as a cricketer to play at such a picturesque ground. I love to come and play here.”
It was also a venue of reminiscence for Kohli as he jogged back to his U-19 days where he played a lot of cricket here. “I have got some good memories playing here in the U-19 zonal camps. I played here for the Delhi Ranji team where I had a great season and a good run in the one-day domestic tournament. The last game I played here was against West Indies and I got a hundred which came after quite a lean patch.
That is one thing that I clearly remember about this ground and I dearly take that as the most special memory so far here. I absolutely love this place. The weather is so good here; it is high altitude training and the facilities here are world class.”
India middle-order batsman, Suresh Raina couldn’t agree less. “I have played in a lot of grounds, but Dharamsala definitely ranks as my number one in the world when it comes to scenery and view,” Raina said, pointing out at the mountains on his backdrop. “When you lie on the ground and see the snow clad mountains, you can almost smell it in the air. The weather is so awesome. I played a lot of matches here when I was captain of the UP team. I got my first man of the tournament award here playing for India against England. Even the crowd here is massive and the support is phenomenal. This ground makes me feel as if I am playing a Test match in the 1960s era. Credit goes to the BCCI Hon. Secretary Anurag Thakur who has really worked hard on the venue. I am really looking forward to playing South Africa here.”
For Ajinkya Rahane, it was all about the positive vibe the ground would generate each time he walked on to the field. “Whenever you enter this stadium, you get a positive feeling. You have the mountains surrounding you and it is a scenic and beautiful setting. You somehow feel motivated to do well. It is great to be back here.”
The team looked in high spirits enjoying each and every bit of the settings around them. The training sessions will only become intense from here on as we enter match-day in three days time. As of now, some light moments under the gentle skies of Dharamsala would do no harm.
