Indian cricketers undergo fitness test, celebrate Ajinkya Rahane's birthday

Kolkata: It was a bit of hardwork followed by some celebrations as the Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli underwent cutsomary fitness tests after which Ajinkya Rahane's 27th birthday was celebrated on the first of the two-day camp, here on Saturday.

Closely monitored by India team director Ravi Shastri, the 14-member squad led by Kohli took the beep test to assess the fitness levels as the camp went on for about two hours during the evening session.

The Bangladesh-bound touring party has now been reduced to 14 because of KL Rahul being diagnosed with dengue. The squad assembled around 4.45pm as they headed straight to the ground and had a light drill sessions.

From Harbhajan Singh, who is returning to the Tests after two years, fit-again Ishant Sharma to Kohli all took part in the multi-stage fitness test as they were made to run short-sprints of about 20 metres each.

Later they ran four laps of the ground before winding it up with the customary cake cutting ceremony of Rahane who turned 27 on the day.

"It's was brief celebration and everyone was present," CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey, who was appointed as administrative manager for the Bangladesh tour, told reporters.

The Kohli-led side will assemble here tomorrow afternoon for a full-fledged practice session ahead of their departure on Monday morning.