India vs New Zealand: Team India staff Raghu seen cleaning shoes of players in Dharamsala, commended for selfless act

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The Indian cricket team is going in full throttle in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. The hosts are looking excellent in the tournament.

In cricket, often the players get all the limelight for their performances. But behind the scenes, there are the support staffs, who work tirelessly to mould and polish the players, keep them updated on all the conditions and help them at any cause.

An example of that was seen in India's World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand on Sunday (October 22). Team India area taking on the Black Caps in Dharamshala, a venue whose outfield has garnered negative attention in the tournament.

Amid the match on Sunday, team India's throwdown specialist Raghu Raghavendra was seen cleaning the shoes of Indian players.

Raghu has been a mainstay in the Indian team, with a stint which goes beyond a decade. Raghu's job is providing 'throwdown' to players throughout training sessions. It facilitates their readiness for the speed and bounce of pitches across the globe.

Having remained a constant part of the squad for over ten years, Raghu visibly does everything within his power to back the team. And on Sunday, he was again seen doing a selfless job such as cleaning the spike of the shoes of some of the Indian players.

As the Dharamshala outfield is not the best, a player can injured anytime, and if the spikes are jammed with grass, shoes can slip, leading to dangerous injuries.

Hence Raghu was seen removing the grasses off their spikes with a brush, thus minimizing the risk of slipping while fielding.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first. New Zealand had early blows but Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell stitched a decent partnership, while the latter also scored a century. The Kiwis ended up bundled out for 273 runs. Mohammed Shami was the star of the bowling show with five wickets, thus becoming the first Indian with multiple five-fer in World Cups.