ItS tough to keep a straight face while watching the Indians at their training sessions in New Zealand. Despite their heavy workload in tough conditions,the lighter side hasnt been missed by the touring party. Be it a subtle one-liner or downright slapstick comedy,a funny moment is always around the corner when Team India are together. This was best evident at the indoor nets on Monday when Sachin Tendulkar switched off from the outside world as he faced the bowling machine for about 40 minutes. Expecting to face pacy tracks in the coming days,he stood way outside the playing crease,reducing the length of the pitch to about 17 yards as he negotiated the missiles hurled at him. Drained out after the batting session,he took off his pads and was ready for some serious fun. When Harbhajan Singh came,swinging his bat,and took guard,Tendulkar took the machines controls in his hand. With a naughty smile on his face,he fiddled with the speed and the trajectory of the deliveries to leave Harbhajan clueless. Harbhajan didnt get the joke at first,standing at the crease like a bystander dodging stray bullets,but when Tendulkar could keep a straight face no longer,Harbhajan walked out of the nets with a smile and an Ive-been-had expression. Virender Sehwag is another batsman who believes in taking off the serious mask along with his pads. The other day,the driver of the team bus left the keys in the ignition as he stepped out and what followed was a scene straight from sit-com a smiling Sehwag at the wheel and a surprised driver chasing the bus. Coach Gary Kirsten,who was restrained and reserved in his early days,also seemed to lighten up. After sprints and an energy-sapping football session on Sunday,Kirsten called out to Sehwag for a round of friendly banter. Viru ready to bat? You are in the first set of batters, shouted Kirsten. No Im tired,I am not batting today, replied Sehwag in mock anger. Okay,I will arrange for a bed for you, said the coach. Please do that,Im waiting, said Viru,getting in the last word. Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar are two men never short of things to say when the bitterly contested daily batsmen vs bowlers games take place during warm-ups. They unleash rapturous cat-calls when the bowlers win,and are the most audible even when their unit loses. After the round of dart-ball rugby before their first session in New Zealand,the batsmen were busy with their exaggerated celebrations when Munaf announced in his heavily accented Hindi. Aabhi tu phorty sheven din baki hain (There are still 47 days to go!). No one could keep a straight face after that.
