India captain Rohit Sharma did not waste time after reaching the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on the eve of the 1st T20I between India and Afghanistan as he joined the Team India training session. Rohit arrived later than the other players, but he got down to business after meeting and greeting his teammates.
Rohit Sharma left for Mohali from Mumbai on Wednesday and made it on time for the team’s training session ahead of the first T20I. Notably, Virat Kohli will miss the first T20I due to personal reasons, head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed. A few reports claimed that Rohit Sharma had not reached Mohali when Rahul Dravid was speaking to the press in the afternoon on Wednesday, January 10 but the skipper made sure he got a feel of the conditions in Mohali ahead of the T20I series opener.
Rohit Sharma was seen spending time with his teammates as he was spotted having a chat with wicketkeeper Sanju Samson before he embraced fielding coach T Dilip, who was overseeing the fielding drills. Notably, India players began with fielding drills on Wednesday to get used to the chilly conditions in the North Indian city.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, speaking to the broadcasters JioCinema, said he was not able to meet the captain when he arrived for training after which the host said that Rohit Sharma arrived a little late to the practice session in Mohali.
Notably, Rohit, along with Kohli, returned to the T20I side for the first time in 14 months. After weeks of speculation over the two veteran’s future in T20I cricket, the selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, picked both Rohit and Kohli in the squad for the 3-match series, which will India’s last international T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup in June.
Rohit Sharma was seen taking throwdowns without wearing pads or helmet from the midway point of the pitch during the training session on Wednesday.
The likes of Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma also did range-hitting at the nets while Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is slated to open with Rohit, put his head down and worked on his batting. Shubman Gill, who will have to prove a point to be in the mix after the return of the seniors, was also having an intense batting session at the nets.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, will be without their captain Rashid Khan, who was ruled out fo the 3-match series. The leg-spinner is on the road to recovery after having undergone surgery for his back injury after the ODI World Cup.
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