ICC World Cup 2023: Pakistan sweat it out on the field

Pakistan players during their practice session yesterday. Pic/PTI

Even as Team India preferred to stay put in their hotel rooms after landing here on Thursday, their arch-rivals Pakistan were seen sweating it out for a marathon three-hour (6-9 pm) practice session at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

The Men in Green began with a casual round of football, followed by a team huddle and then an intense fielding workout that included slip-catching, high catches and outfielding. There was a keen emphasis on sharp, close-in fielding drills too, probably with an eye on containing the Indian batters, who have a tendency to rotate the strike through the middle overs.

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Pakistan's wrecker-in-chief Shaheen Afridi, however, stayed away from the fielding bunch as he focused on his bowling at a different section of the field. The angling and swing factor was something he seemed to be particularly focusing on as he took only a few steps before releasing the ball, which was caught on the full by a member of their support staff.

Skipper Babar Azam, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying his time with his teammates as he laughed as some of them made errors in the field. He was a picture of concentration though whenever the ball was anywhere around him, not hesitating for a moment before even diving and stopping everything. Watching their skipper's commitment, some of the other Pakistan players also got into the act of diving stops as they fielded for over an hour before the bunch went across to hit the nets.