NEW DELHI: He might not be a part of the XI that hits the park for India, but skipper Virat Kohli has often spoken about how integral a part of the set-up throwdown expert Raghu is. And in what comes as good news for Kohli and the boys, Raghu is set to complete his quarantine period and join the team for training sessions in Sydney.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments in the team management said that Raghu has been following protocols and undergoing quarantine after arriving in Australia from India and has so far isolated himself from the rest of the team.
"The team came in from UAE after the IPL and it was a movement from one bubble to another so they could start training as soon as they returned negative coronavirus test results. But Raghu could not join the squad in UAE after testing positive and so had to complete his quarantine period in India and then fly in directly to Australia.
"As a result, he had to follow the complete quarantine rules here in Australia. But he is set to rejoin the squad after he ends the quarantine period and that is definitely great news for the boys going into such an important series," the source explained.
The Indian squad started preparations for the series against Australia in Dubai itself and even trained with pink balls under lights. Even though Raghu had to skip travelling to the UAE with the rest of the support staff, the team had another throwdown specialist in Sri Lankan Nuwan Seneviratne. His left-arm throwdowns are something that will help the Indians prepare for the Australian pace unit which is led by Mitchell Starc.
Interestingly, in Raghu's absence, spin spearhead R Ashwin was seen using tennis racquets to help teammate KL Rahul train for the pull shot against quality pace. They used Cosco balls to bring in a swift bat swing from Rahul. Not only did the opener train on playing the pull, but he also looked to practice evading the tricky volleys that can induce false shots.
India and Australia will play three ODIs, three T20Is, and four Tests against each other. The Test series will be a part of the World Test Championship.
India and Australia are currently at the number one and two spots in the World Test Championship standings. The first Test is set to be played under lights from December 17 to 21 at the Adelaide Oval. The second is the Boxing Day Test which will be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The third Test will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 7 to 11 and the final Test at the Gabba from January 15 to 19.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to record their first Test series win on Australian soil. The Kohli-led side won the series 2-1 and will now look to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.