It was meant to be an off day for the Indian cricketers on Monday, but Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin decided to make the most of the opportunity to train under the watchful eyes of Ravi Shastri and the rest of the support staff. Rohit is making a return to the Test team having last played in the format in South Africa at the start of the year. Ashwin too is looking to make it count this time, having had a poor record Down Under.

Taking to Instagram, BCCI posted photos which read: “When Hitman and Ash stepped out to get a feel of the nets #TeamIndia #AUSvIND.”

Ashwin has taken 21 wickets at an average of 54.71 in six previous Tests in Australia, a return at odds with his overall Test record of 336 wickets at 25.44. But Pujara has backed the spinner to do well this time round.

“If you see his recent bowling, I think he has made a lot of changes,” Pujara said. “I can’t describe what it is, not in front of the media. But he has made some adjustments which has helped him.

“He has played enough cricket in England which is obviously different conditions, not much help for the spinner. So I think when he’s playing in Australia, he knows what he has to do.

“He has also played a series in 2015 (here) so he’s very confident now. And whatever adjustments he had to make, he has already done it.”

Ashwin and Rohit were the only India players to work out in the Adelaide Oval nets on Monday as the tourists enjoyed an unexpected rest day. Team management decided to allow the players a day off after they spent more than 150 overs in the field in a warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI which ended on Saturday.

Pujara said that that team was happy with the practice it got during the warm-up game. “We got what we wanted in the practice game and the trainer and the physio has been monitoring the workload. We thought that it was best to take a break today and train for the next two days and be fresh for the Test match,” he said.

First Published: Dec 03, 2018 12:59 IST