Dambulla, Aug. 14: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked out of a practice session here on Saturday, unhappy with the condition of the practice pitches at the Rangiri International Stadium.
With groundstaff at work on the main square, the Indians were forced to hold nets in the practice area outside the stadium. Dinesh Karthik was hit on the thumb when a delivery from one of the local bowlers took off from a good length and Dhoni, who was batting in the adjacent net walked off immediately, packed his kit and left for the team hotel in a car along with Karthik.
The Indian batsmen had earlier complained about the dangerous nature of the practice pitches on Friday too. With Dhoni carrying a finger injury, Karthik is the only other wicket-keeping option and his injury has put the team management in a quandary.
The practice wickets were damp and did not measure to international standards.
Doctors from Sri Lanka Cricket attended to Karthik immediately, and first aid and ice treatment was administered. No X-rays were taken as there was no serious concerns, and the opener should be fit in time for the match on Monday against Sri Lanka.
“After I got hit, there was some difficulty in holding the bat but there are two days for the match and I should be better by then,” said Karthik who made 14 in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
“Dhoni and Gary Kirsten were not happy with the practice facilities and they had a chat with the curator about their concerns,” manager Ranjib Biswal said.
When contacted SLC national curator Anuruddha Polonowita said, “Honestly, I think there is nothing to complain about. In the first match, it was an ideal track but they could not bat and blamed the wicket and now they are doing the same again.”
It was Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh’s first practice session after the 200-run rout at New Zealand’s hands on Tuesday.
After a shortened net session the players shifted over to a full fledged fielding practice session.
Barring Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra all other players attended the optional session.