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Indian cricket squad arrived here in Sri Lanka to play a tri-nation limited-overs series, after fine-tuning with what local media was dubbing military training.

Sri Lanka’s ‘The Island’ newspaper carried front-page photographs of Yuvraj Singh in camouflaged dress taking aim with a rifle assisted by personnel from the Indian Parachute Regiment, and other players climbing ropes walking a tight rope in military-like dress.

The training was part of India’s preparation in the southern city of Bangalore, before the tournament which also involves South Africa. “It’s nothing extraordinary, whatever we do is blown out of proportion,” Indian skipper Rahul Dravid told reporters in Colombo when asked about the exercise.

“We were there just to explore their (players’) minds and to show that there is more to life than a game of cricket,” Dravid said. “We have to give them opportunities to explore different things.”

Sri Lanka is hosting the tournament amid bomb threats in the capital and raging battles between government forces and separatist rebels in the country’s northeast.

On Tuesday, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, who are fighting to create a separate state for the country’s ethnic minority Tamils, detonated a car bomb in a busy street in Colombo killing two people.

There have also been two other suicide bomb attacks in and around Colombo in the

past four months targeting high ranking officers of Sri Lanka’s army.

Boosted by the return of prolific batsman Sachin Tendulkar after five months of rest because of shoulder surgery, the Indians will play a warm-up match on Saturday before taking part in their first tournament match on August 16 against Sri Lanka.

Source:The News