The nets are set up, and the Indian cricket team has started practice under the watchful eyes of newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The T20 squad players and coaching staff reached Sri Lanka from Pallekele and joined the ODI team at their base in Colombo. The BCCI shared a special video through its official handle, capturing the team’s intense practice session.
The five-minute video starts with a pepped-up Virat Kohli entering the ground helmet on, holding a bat in his hand, his face displaying a lot of determination. Kohli resumed his full vigor of batting during that last net session by keeping the bowlers at bay, especially the leg-spin, by sending their balls out of the park.
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While both Kuldeep Yadav and Shreyas Iyer bowled to Kohli and Rohit Sharma in that net session, it was their deliveries that needed to be seen off comfortably, since the two batting maestros dispatched almost everything out of the park. In the midst of this spectacle of the greatest batting ever, the reaction of the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, was a shade different. He actually looked awestruck by the impeccable power-hitting showcased by Rohit and Kohli.
T20I Series ✅
It’s now time for ODIs 😎🙌#TeamIndia | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/FolAVEn3OG
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 1, 2024
However, it wasn’t a mere batting practice session. In between, the 35-year-old Kohli was seen taking an active part in fielding drills, where he joined Kuldeep Yadav but was later joined by Shreyas Iyer, who batted and fielded while also rolling his arm over. India will play a three-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka from August 2-7 at Colombo.
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This series will see the pair make their return into the Indian ODI team after eight months. They had officially declared that they would retire from T20I immediately following India’s T20 World Cup win on June 29 in Barbados. The upcoming ODI series will be a first assignment for Kohli and Rohit under the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, making the affair even more exciting.
