Virat Kohli receives special food delivery despite BCCI's ban on personal chefs; Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer put support staff on notice

India kicked off their training session for the upcoming Champions Trophy on Sunday at the ICC Academy in Dubai. Led by Rohit Sharma, the team will commence their campaign on Thursday with a Group A fixture against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium. The much-anticipated clash against Pakistan will take place over the weekend at the same venue.

According to a report in the Times of India, Virat Kohli was seen having a word with the team's local manager about 15 minutes before the arrival of the team bus following the end of India's gruelling three-hour practice session. When the latter returned, he had a paper bag comprising food from a popular joint.

"It had had few boxes of Kohli's post-session meal. While the others packed their kit bags, Kohli was refueling and even saved a box for the road." read the report.

BCCI recently released a 10-point diktat in the wake of the team's poor show in the tour of Australia. One of those points included: 'Players can no longer bring personal staff like chefs, security guards, or assistants on tours unless explicitly approved by the BCCI.'

Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer put support staff on alert

The report further added that Kohli was the first to hit the nets, before being joined by Rohit and Hardik Pandya. One had throwdowns, other had the pacers operating and the final net was reserved for spinners. While the two senior batters showed patience during their training session, trying to get the feel of the ball, Hardik, accompanied by Shreyas Iyer, went bang-bang against the bowlers they faced. Such were their approach that it put the support staff on high alert. "Watch the ball, watch it, ball incoming," one of the support staff kept warning security personnel and media near the ropes.

Kohli and Rohit, on the other hand, were tested by Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami, who bowled closed to an hour. The former India captain was tested with deliveries down the stump line, as he executed flick shots and on-drives, the 37-year-old took on incoming deliveries and yorkers from the left-arm pacer.

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