'Thodi Aur Thand Hoti To...': Team India Freezing in Mohali Cold Ahead of 1st AFG T20I | WATCH

India’s last T20I series at home ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 gets under on Thursday. Rohit Sharma and his boys are gearing up to take on Afghanistan in Mohali but the cold in North India is taking a massive toll on the cricketers. The Indian team has been training at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali but with woollen gloves and beanie caps on.

The BCCI shared a video on Thursday morning in which the members of the Indian cricket team could be seen sharing their thoughts about the chilling weather in Mohali.

“It is so cold here. I am coming off playing domestic cricket in Kerala. There was hot weather like we witness in May and June,” said Rinku Singh in the video.

Kuldeep Yadav admitted that the cold weather will be a challenge for wrist spinners as it’s difficult to grip the ball amid dew and mist.

“It is quite cold and my body took some time to get adjusted. There was a problem for the spinners as the ball was not gripping well. It will be challenging, as we are not used to playing in such weather, but we will be ready,” Kuldeep said.

Local lads, Arshdeep Singh and Shubman Gill joked about the weather but the latter admitted that it was freezing out there.

“Feels quite hot. That is why I am roaming in half sleeves. Thodi si aur thand hoti to achha lagta (It would have felt nice had it been a bit colder).” Arshdeep said.

“Not that cold for me. Actually, it’s very cold, it should be around 7 degrees. Just keeping hands in my pockets, but I would not advise that unless you have hand warmers in your pocket,” Shubman said.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Axar Patel comically explained the scenario.

“In Gujarat, when the cold is at its peak and the season is over better, it’s not as cold as this even in between that,” Axar said.

Even head coach Rahul Dravid arrived all covered at the press conference. He admitted that Indian players will not get too many chances to play as a group ahead of the T20I World Cup, and said they needed to remain mentally flexible ahead of the marquee event in June.

“After the last T20I World Cup (2022) we prioritised the ODI World Cup. But we don’t have that many T20I games after that (ODI WC),” said Dravid in his pre-match conference.

“So, this T20I WC is slightly different in the sense that (there’s) not a lot of time to prepare for that. We have to rely on the cricket that we have and also a little bit on the IPL,” he added.