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India bans fans from training sessions for Border Gavaskar Test series

India bans fans from training sessions for Border Gavaskar Test series

India has banned spectators from training sessions for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar series after a huge crowd turned out to watch them prepare for the Adelaide Oval Test.

Up to 5,000 people attended an open training session on Tuesday night, with India going through a full dress rehearsal with the pink ball.

Fans packed the stands to watch India’s stars kick around a soccer ball, rising together as Virat Kohli simply walked out onto the ground.

Spectators took any position they could find to watch their heroes train in the nearby nets, filling space up to four levels above.

Indian management is notoriously protective of its stars, aware of the god-like status they have at home and anywhere they travel around the world.

Cricket Australia (CA) will work with India to keep training sessions in Brisbane and Sydney closed ahead of the third and fifth Tests.

But the nets at the MCG are visible by anyone nearby, although fans will not be able to get as close to the players as they were in Adelaide.

“India have expressed a preference for their remaining training sessions not to be open to the public to minimise potential noise or distractions,” a CA spokesperson told AAP.

Fans will not have close access to the Indian team going forward. (Getty Images: Mark Brake)

Ahead of the first Test in Perth, Indian management dictated where media could stand when watching nets sessions.

A walkway at Perth Stadium, behind the batters, was deemed unacceptable and journalists were asked to move to another spot.

Media will still be able to watch sessions for the rest of the series, even though the public are not.

Australia will continue holding open sessions to the public, with a strong crowd watching training on Tuesday before the India juggernaut took centre stage.

India batter KL Rahul called the opening training session “different”.

“We have practised with crowds but it’s mostly T20 and ODIs back home, we’ve had crowds come in and watch our practice sessions,” he said on Wednesday.

“It felt a little different but also it adds to your preparation for the Test match and gives us a bit of what we can expect on day one and all the days here in Adelaide, so it was good.”

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AAP