IND v BAN: Virat Kohli bats for 45 minutes on India's 1st training day in Chennai

After arriving from London, former captain Virat Kohli wasted no time before getting back to business. The batting superstar batted close to 45 minutes at the nets during India's first training session ahead of the two-Test series against Bangladesh, starting September 19.

Kohli joined the Indian team training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. Team India, under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir, began its preparations for the Test series a week in advance. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was another player who went full throttle during the training session on Friday, according to news agency PTI.

Virat Kohli arrived in Chennai directly from London, where he had been spending time with his family, for the two-Test series against Bangladesh. Kohli will be playing a Test match in Chennai for the first time in three years. The former captain averages 44.50, having scored 267 runs, including a hundred, in four Tests at the iconic venue. Kohli's hundred came in his first Test in Chennai -- against Australia in 2013.

On Friday, head coach Gautam Gambhir oversaw the training session. He was joined by assistant coach Abhishek Sharma and newly-appointed bowling coach, Morne Morkel. The entire 15-member squad, led by Rohit, was in attendance on Friday.

For



the first time in years, India have had a week-long training camp ahead of a home season. After enjoying a rare, month-long break following their limited-overs series in Sri Lanka in July-August, big guns, including Kohli, captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja reached Chennai in batches.

The rest of the team, including KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Axar Patel, reached Chennai from Bengaluru and Anantapur in batches. The Test regulars featured in the first round of the Duleep Trophy first-class tournament last week.

The upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh will be Gambhir's first assignment in red-ball cricket as the team's head coach. After the end of the Bangladesh Test, India will play New Zealand in a three-match series before heading to Australia for a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Between September 2024 and January 2025, India will play as many as 10 Tests.

Gambhir and his men will be keen on bouncing back from the shock 2-0 defeat to Sri Lanka in an ODI series in August. India also have crucial World Test Championship points up for grabs as they look to reach the final for the third successive cycle. India are currently heading the table with 68.52 percentage points, while Australia are a close second with 62.50 percentage points.