India vs South Africa: After Falling Twice To Kagiso Rabada, Rohit Sharma Trains Against This India Bowler

It was an optional session at the Supersport Park but for India skipper Rohit Sharma, skipping the nets wasn't an option. Outfoxed by South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada in both innings of the opening Test, Rohit was present as skipper and batter in equal measure during a two-hour session. The Indian captain was focussed on facing Mukesh Kumar, who bowled only to Rohit for at least 45 minutes.

While the fit-again Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin also bowled in the same nets, the Indian skipper's complete attention was on the one Test old Bengal seamer. Occasionally, Dayanand Garani, the throwdown specialist kept his deliveries fast and full on off stump channel.

He actually wanted Mukesh to bowl one that comes in with the angle from length. "Hawa mein andaar aa raha hai. Par koshish kar angle se andar laane ka," the skipper told his younger colleague.

Rohit specifically wanted Mukesh to pitch in between 4-6 metre length and the seamer seemed to have impressed the skipper. There were times when he beat Rohit's bat and earned appreciation from the senior pro.

When batting coach Vikram Rathour asked him, "Tu is net pe aayega" (would you like to use this one), pointing at the nets exclusively kept for throwdowns, the skipper replied: "Nahi yehin pe aur 10 minute bat karoonga" (No I will bat here for another 10 minutes).

The skipper devoted extra time for Mukesh and it seemed he was giving tips on wrist position and the length that he needs to hit on a regular basis.

Mukesh has been consistently playing domestic cricket and is one of the biggest reasons for Bengal featuring in two Ranji Trophv finals in three years.

On the day, he did ask a few probing questions of the Indian captain and certainly made a case