New Delhi: If net sessions are anything go by then the first warm-up match between India A and England can witness a lot of fireworks from two of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball – MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.
India A players had a good practice session a night before the first practice match against England at Mumbai and it was Dhoni and Yuvraj who appeared to be in fine knick with their free flowing strokeplay.
There were lot of talks about how will Dhoni play after he shun the burden of captaincy, will he bat higher up the order? Will he play carefree cricket like the old days? Dhoni seems to have answered all of that in that practice session, where he was seen smashing the ball at will.
His teammate Yuvraj Singh turned the clock back when he almost cleared the stadium with a huge six, sending a strong signal not only to the England camp but also to the ones who questioned his return in the Indian ODI setup after three years.
The warm up match will also see Dhoni leading an Indian outfit for the last time, thereby adding special emotional value to the match.
Emotions apart, the match is expected to be anything but a friendly affair as both sides have some players who are hungry for success. Apart from Dhoni and Yuvraj the India A side boasts off name likes Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Nehra, who will look to make the most of the match practice in order to make a strong case for them in the playing XI.
India will face Eoin Morgan’s England in a three-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series starting from January 15.