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Team India's WC camp in Bangalore from Feb 9

February 01, 2011 20:32 IST

The Indian team will fine-tune its preparations for the forthcoming World Cup in a three-day training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

The camp, called at the request of coach Gary Kirsten, begins on February 9 and will run for three days before the hosts play Australia in a warm-up match at the same venue on February 13.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys then travel to Chennai to take on New Zealand in their second practice match on February 16.

Team IndiaIndia, who last won the World Cup way back in 1983, take on minnows Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament in Dhaka on February 19. Interestingly, they were beaten by Bangladesh in the last tournament, where they made a humiliating first round exit.

They are pitted in a tough Group B, with South Africa, England and West Indies, while Netherlands and Ireland are the two weak links. Four teams from each of the two groups go through to the quarter-finals.

At the camp, India will be will looking to assess the fitness status of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who all will be returning to the squad after injuries sustained during the recently-concluded tour of South Africa.

Pacer Praveen Kumar is also under a cloud of injury after hurting his elbow on the South Africa tour. He is scheduled to travel to England for further treatment.

Harish Kotian