Playing XI will be decided at time time of toss, says Sridhar

On a dull day of endless waiting and no cricket action, it is important to stay in good spirits. India fielding coach R. Sridhar was certainly in a cheerful mood, starting the end-of-day media interaction with his own take on the viral Cristiano Ronaldo-Coca Cola incident.

“Should I move the Coke bottle before we start? Will the share prices be affected if I do it?” Sridhar joked, before taking questions from the media.

Given that the toss has not been conducted yet, and that persistent rain can affect match conditions, the Indian team has the option to make changes to the playing eleven announced earlier.

“I think the playing eleven which was announced on Thursday is the eleven which takes the pitch and conditions out of the equation. It’s the eleven which can play and perform on any given surface, and in any given weather conditions. But having said that, the toss is not yet over. If a decision needs to be taken, it will be taken at the time of the toss,” Sridhar said.

The players and staff are closely following the Indian women’s team’s Test match against England, Sridhar said.

“We have not missed a beat in the girls’ game, right from day one. It is broadcast live in our team rooms and breakfast area. Today, when we were waiting for the rain to stop, all of us were sitting together and encouraging our girls… Shafali (Varma) reminds us so much of Viru (Virender Sehwag), with the way she plays and her mindset,” Sridhar said.

Wait and see

New Zealand vice-captain Tom Latham stated that the playing eleven is yet to be finalised.

“We have not confirmed the final eleven. We have to wait and see when we get the chance to look at the wicket,” Latham said.