India train hard ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand under watchful eyes of new head coach Rahul Dravid

The hectic international schedule has led to India and New Zealand facing each other only three days after the T20 World Cup concluded on November 17. The first T20I of the three-match series is set to be played in Jaipur and both sides have reached the venue ahead of the opener. New Zealand are coming into this series on a high having made it to the final of the mega event only to lose to Australia.

On the other hand, India’s campaign ended in the Super 12 itself and they last played a game on November 8 against Namibia. The T20I series will be the start of a new era for the hosts with Rohit Sharma taking over as full-time T20I captain while it will also be the first assignment of the head coach Rahul Dravid who replaced Ravi Shastri at the helm.

BCCI offered players a couple of days’ time to spend with family before asking them to report to the venue for the opening T20I. Ahead of the game, the team hit the ground running in the nets as well under the watchful eyes of Dravid with the skipper Rohit Sharma also hitting the ball well.

India building the team for next T20 World Cup

India have rested quite a few players for this series managing their workload and the bubble fatigue as well. But there was no let-off in the intensity during the practice session in the team. The players looked determined even as Dravid was also seen going about his work in his first session after being appointed as head coach recently.

The hosts have rested several players – Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami – for this series after a hectic bubble life over the last six months. A few of the top IPL 2021 performers have been given an opportunity to shine in this series. BCCI posted a video of the team’s first practice session after the World Cup and the team looked excited. No wonder, the opening T20I will be a close affair with both teams looking forward to build towards the next World Cup.

Here’s the video:

New roles 👌
New challenges 👊
New beginnings 👍

Energies were high yesterday on Day 1 at the office for #TeamIndia T20I captain @ImRo45 & Head Coach Rahul Dravid. 👏 👏#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/a8zlwCREhl

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2021