As the Indian cricket team nears the halfway point of their Sri Lanka tour, the squad is undergoing a significant shake-up. Key players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, along with four other squad members, have arrived in Colombo ahead of the upcoming ODI series. Rohit, who was in the United States for a personal trip, joined his teammates at the ITC Ratnadipa Hotel.
To ensure a smooth transition between the T20I and ODI squads, the Indian team management has put Abhishek Nayar, one of Gautam Gambhir’s assistant coaches, in charge of a net session scheduled for Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Nayar has travelled from Kandy specifically for this purpose.
The rest of the ODI squad will join Rohit and his contingent after the conclusion of the third and final T20I. India has already clinched the T20I series 2-0 and will be looking to maintain their dominance in the ODI format as well. All three ODI matches are slated to be held in Colombo.
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Meanwhile, the Indian team management is also evaluating its coaching setup. With Morne Morkel set to join the team for the Bangladesh series, there is a growing need for a dedicated spin bowling coach. Sairaj Bahutule, the current interim bowling coach, may or may not retain his role.
Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli have arrived in Sri Lanka for the ODI series.✈️🇱🇰
📸: Revsportz pic.twitter.com/A0G3xNSlzL
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) July 29, 2024
If Bahutule stays on, the coaching staff will consist of Gautam Gambhir as head coach, Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches, Morne Morkel as bowling coach, T. Dilip as fielding coach, and Bahutule as spin bowling coach. This would form a comprehensive coaching team for future series.
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As the tour progresses, the Indian team will be looking to solidify its position in both T20I and ODI formats while also refining its coaching structure for optimal performance.
ODI squad to face Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Riyan Parag, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana
