Indian team has canceled its future open net sessions in the ongoing BGT 2024-25 series after complaining to Cricket Australia that its players were being distracted by the crowd. Around 5000 fans converged at the Adelaide Oval to watch Indian players practice and some of them heckled the players as well.
Estimates for attendance at training in Adelaide were between 3000 and 5000 spectators, who shouted for their favorite players, like Virat Kohli, around the nets and during fielding drills on the oval.
It is customary at most Australian locations for fans to be able to witness training before a Test match, and Cricket Australia had protracted negotiations with the BCCI before agreeing to the open session in Adelaide.
Indian players heckled and distracted by fans during an open net session in Adelaide
There will be no more supporters in India’s practice sessions during their tour of Australia, after the team management complained to the Australian Cricket Board on Tuesday, December 3. India’s practice session in Adelaide was open to the public.
“India have expressed a preference for their remaining training sessions not to be open to the public to minimize potential noise or distractions,” a CA spokesperson stated.
The Indian players were confused and distracted from their preparatory procedures when the audience made constant noise and yelled their names. Furthermore, according to the report, members of the public gathered near the Indian cricket team heckled the players as they prepared for the pink-ball encounter in Adelaide.
The thousands’ frequent loud yells and comments did not provide a good training atmosphere for the guests who were completing the day-night Test.
The crowd was constantly encouraging players to hit boundaries or sixes, and some even made disparaging remarks about players who had been ejected or beaten during net sessions.
“They were literally next to the nets. (It) Could have been handled better. The regular chants, demeaning remarks, requests for selfies and all don’t help when players are trying to train hard,” a source told Times of India.
India’s players are used to open training sessions for white-ball games and the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, but Test match preparation tends to be a more private affair for most international teams.
India’s training session on Wednesday was significantly quieter, with a small group of spectators allowed no further than the sealed southern gates, where they might catch a quick sight of the nets more than 100 meters away.
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