India summon 35 net bowlers, most of them spinners, ahead of third Test vs New Zealand

The Rohit Sharma-led side has already lost the three-Test series having suffered defeats in Bengaluru and Pune. India is desperate to avoid a whitewash and has even demanded a rank turner for the third and final Test, which begins on Friday.

The team management had earlier informed all players there won’t be any optional training before the Test and that it would be compulsory for everyone.

The last-minute request to allow extra net bowlers, with an added focus on spinners, stems from the fact that New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner consistently troubled Indian batsmen in the second Test. In Pune, the left-arm spinner produced a match-winning performance, with his figures of 13 for 157 being the third-best by a visiting bowler in India.

India’s spinners have traditionally enjoyed bowling at Wankhede.

In five games here, Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 38 wickets at 18.42, the highest tally by any bowler at this venue. In the only game he has played here, Ravindra Jadeja, too, managed to take six wickets.

On Tuesday, three days before the game, the pitch looked bare and without grass, with the ground-staff regularly watering it and leaving it open for long hours to dry in the sun. However, in the first session, aided by the sea breeze — which facilitates drift for spinners too—seamers could get some movement too.