Mahendra Singh Dhoni Skips Practice, May Miss Middlesex Warm-Up Game

Holding their last practice session before being forced to go on a break by the BCCI, India's bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding consultant Trevor Penney made the players 'sweat' before the one-off practice game ahead of the five-match ODI series starting August 25. Looking to pick up the pieces from the embarrassing 3-1 Test loss against England, the visitors now await the new coaching staff before their 50-over warm-up match against Middlesex on Friday at the Lord's.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami, took the day off after attending the nets on Wednesday. (Also read: Ravi Shastri says Team India will learn from England defeat)

The net sessions and the way they were carried out seemed to give an impression that Dhoni may miss the Middlesex game and rather choose to sit with the think-tank to try and chalk out a winning strategy for the one-dayers and the one-off Twenty20. (Also Read: BCCI Needs to Handle Aaron With Care: Former India Physio John Gloster)

In the mean time, Dawes and Penney took Team India through their paces in the net session with some slip-fielding practice and throw-downs taking place as the bowlers and batsmen did their respective drills.

Newly-appointed assistant coaches Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar will look to bring some change to India's fortunes with Team Director Ravi Shastri clarifying that the new team will not try to clip under-fire coach Duncan Fletcher's wings. (Also read: Stuart Broad to undergo knee surgery on September 4)

Though only three players from the Test contingent, Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny, made it to the practice session at the Lord's nursery grounds, the young brigade went about the drills diligently.

Looking to get into their limited-overs groove before the Bristol ODI on Monday, the Indian players are not only looking for a change in fortune but are keen to prove their detractors wrong, atleast in white-ball cricket. Though the team has still not talked about the one-day combination it has in mind, but Sanju Samson was seen practicing his wicketkeeping skills along with an intended slip-cordon of Binny, Rahane and Suresh Raina.

The methods of Fletcher have also come under intense scrutiny and the Zimbabwean is not known to treat practice games with intensity. Many felt that India took the two warm-up games -- against Leicestershire and Derbyshire -- before the Tests too lightly and their lackadaisical approach did not help the team at all.