On what was supposed to be a day off for the Indian team, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has visited the home of American basketball team Miami Heats ahead of the two-match T20 series against West Indies in Florida.
In an attempt to popularise the sport in non-cricketing nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reached out to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for a two-match series to be played at the Central Broward Regional Park on August 27 and 28.
As a result, competitive International Cricket will be played on American soil for the very first time.
The latest recruit of the Miami Heats - Tyler Johnson and Briante Weber hosted the Indian trio at their home ground - The American Airlines Arena. The Indian contingent was taken around the locker room, gymnasium and the recuperation center before indulging in a brief bout of play between the five of them.
Shikhar and Bhuvneshwar were seen chatting up with the hosts, while Ashwin seemed to have gone back to his school days of playing basketball.
Speaking about his visit at the Miami Heats home arena, R Ashwin said: "I've played a bit of Basketball during my school days so that got me really excited while I tried my hand again after so many years. I am thankful to both Weber and Johnson for taking time out and showing us around their home turf."
Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar and Dhawan also reflected on their visit.
"It was great to see these guys and learn about their game. I was impressed with the facilities here and it was a learning experience for me to see the amount of technology being used in sports science," Bhuvneshwar affirmed.
"It was great fun. I am very happy we could make it here. Exchanging thoughts about how the sports have transformed with the latest technology is always good. While I tried to explain these guys how Cricket is played, they in return taught me the finer details of Basketball," said Indian opener Dhawan.
The other Indian players had a field day in the new country as some of them went around shopping, while a few others chose to relax at the hotel. The Social Media handles of players and the BCCI were active with posts and pictures ever since they landed in the USA.
The Indian contingent reached the city on Tuesday morning. MS Dhoni, the skipper of the Indian ODI and T20 team reached Florida on Wednesday with Jasprit Bumrah.
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