Colombo: The Indian T20 squad had their first net session in Sri Lanka ahead of the series. It was also Gautam Gambhir’s first session with the Indian team after taking over as head coach. Spotlight was on Gambhir’s every move. Gambhir was spotted giving batting tips to Hardik Pandya during the session. He also had a long chat with a few other players as well. Hardik is looked at as an important member in Gambhir’s scheme of things, especially in the T20Is. In a couple of pictures that is going viral, Gambhir is seen working with Hardik on the off-drive.
Earlier, the Indian team arrived in Colombo to a warm welcome, with the recently-crowned T20 world champions playfully mingling with fans and giving them some precious moments. The 15-member India team along with the support staff had left Mumbai on Monday after a pre-departure press conference addressed by Gambhir and BCCI’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
The team, comprising of several youngsters with Shubman Gill as the vice-captain, is without stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who announced retirement from T20Is following India’s title triumph in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
