India captain Rohit Sharma was in full flow with the bat during the practice sessions in Sri Lanka after joining the ODI squad for the three-match series beginning on Friday, and one of his big hits in the nets got even head coach Gautam Gambhir looking skywards to see where the ball was headed.
After announcing his retirement from T20Is following India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the Caribbean on June 29 this year, a well-rested Rohit is back to lead India in 50-over internationals.Also returning to the squad is Virat Kohli, who also decided to retire from T20Is after India became the T20 world champions.But it didn’t take time for the two seasoned pros to get back in the groove for the longer version of white-ball cricket, as both Rohit and Virat had a good feel of the Sri Lankan conditions, which, however, are not much dissimilar to India.
During one of the training sessions in Colombo, with Rohit facing the bowlers in the nets, the skipper launched himself into a big aerial shot. With head coach Gambhir close by, the shot drew his attention instantaneously as he watched it sailing with an emotion of awe writ large on his face.
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After announcing his retirement from T20Is following India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the Caribbean on June 29 this year, a well-rested Rohit is back to lead India in 50-over internationals.Also returning to the squad is Virat Kohli, who also decided to retire from T20Is after India became the T20 world champions.But it didn’t take time for the two seasoned pros to get back in the groove for the longer version of white-ball cricket, as both Rohit and Virat had a good feel of the Sri Lankan conditions, which, however, are not much dissimilar to India.
During one of the training sessions in Colombo, with Rohit facing the bowlers in the nets, the skipper launched himself into a big aerial shot. With head coach Gambhir close by, the shot drew his attention instantaneously as he watched it sailing with an emotion of awe writ large on his face.
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The first ODI of the three-match series will be played on Friday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, followed by the second and the concluding game on July 4 and 7 at the same venue.
In the T20I leg of the tour, India were led by Suryakumar Yadav who inspired the team to a 3-0 whitewash of the hosts, which the visitors completed with a dramatic ‘Super Over’ win in the last match of the series.