Their intense discussions likely centred on batting strategy and the blueprint for taking the team forward.
With the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, India officially commence their road to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
On the eve of the series opener, the entire Indian squad turned out at the picturesque venue.
KL Rahul kicked off proceedings by taking light throwdowns with just a single pad on before a fully geared-up Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma stepped into the cages.
Rohit, echoing his recent outing in Mohali, started out looking slightly rusty.
At the conclusion of the net session, head coach Gautam Gambhir, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and captain Shubman Gill lingered at the HPCA Stadium practice arena in Dharamsala for nearly an hour. Their intense discussions likely centred on batting strategy and the blueprint for taking the team forward.
With the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, India officially commence their road to the 2027 ODI World Cup. While the showpiece tournament is still 16 months away, the groundwork is being laid now – a crucial step given India’s recent struggles in the 50-over format, having lost their last two series against Australia and New Zealand.
On the eve of the series opener, the entire Indian squad turned out at the picturesque venue. After a customary round of warm-ups and catching drills, attention shifted to the nets. KL Rahul kicked off proceedings by taking light throwdowns with just a single pad on before a fully geared-up Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma stepped into the cages.
Rohit, echoing his recent outing in Mohali, started out looking slightly rusty. He navigated a few early edges and leaves before taking a blow to the thumb from a fiery short ball by Prasidh Krishna. While spicy deliveries from Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and ArshdeepSingh troubled him initially, his trademark flow and timing returned the longer he spent at the crease. Soon, his crisp back-foot punches, drives and commanding pulls caught the eye.
Gill also edged a few early deliveries but quickly rediscovered his rhythm, unleashing several impeccably timed pulls and drives of his own. Meanwhile, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer looked in solid touch and had a couple of detailed chats with Gambhir.
Interestingly, Ishan Kishan looks poised to take the No. 3 spot while also donning the wicketkeeping gloves. With Virat Kohli sidelined by a hamstring injury, bowling coach Morne Morkel has floated the names of Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul for the vacancy. However, Kishan’s activities strongly hinted at his dual role: he completed catching drills with his keeping gloves on and later batted alongside the top order.
Afterwards, a gloved Kishan joined Rohit to take flat catches under the floodlights, while Gill took a long, hard look at the pitch before heading back to the dressing room.
Heading into Saturday’s clash, a debut appears imminent for either Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav or Harsh Dubey, with the tall Punjab pacer widely tipped to receive his ODI cap.
