Gautam Gambhir gets fixated on Rohit-Kohli's brilliant hitting in nets ahead of Sri Lanka ODIs

On the eve of India’s first ODI against Sri Lanka, senior India batters Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul were seen practicing hard in Colombo. Head coach Gautam Gambhir was standing in the distance to watch them bat and was impressed with the way they were batting in the nets. In a video shared by BCCI, Kohli was seen batting alongside Rahul while Rohit focused more on hitting straight. Later, they also played the spinners.

After his batting session, Kohli had a lengthy chat with Gambhir which was followed by fielding drills. Towards the end, Rohit was seen discussing things with the head coach as the Men in Blue are yet to finalize the wicketkeeper spot, for which, both Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are in the reckoning. In the end, both cricketers may end up featuring, if any one of them agrees to bat at number six. In that case, India will play with only five bowling options.

Also Read - ‘What’s personal to him is personal to him’ - Rohit Sharma talks about working with Gautam Gambhir

Keeping that in mind, the team management is pushing Shreyas Iyer as the potential sixth bowling option. Recently, Abhishek Sharma has done well in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, followed by Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav. Iyer can be the latest one on the list. Even though Rohit, Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav bowled in the ODI World Cup, Iyer refrained himself as he was recovering from a back injury.

T20I Series ✅

It's now time for ODIs 😎🙌#TeamIndia | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/FolAVEn3OG

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 1, 2024

He bowled in ODIs previously and against Sri Lanka in 2017 and 2023. He is expected to do the same in the upcoming series as well. Meanwhile, the KKR captain is also making his return to international cricket after being removed from the BCCI contract. 

Also Read - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli meet young fan in Sri Lanka, sign iconic T20 World Cup 2024 final photograph

The bowling unit seems sorted at the moment, but it needs to be seen if they back two or three pacers. Mohammed Siraj is currently the guaranteed starter while Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed are in the reckoning. Among spinners, Kuldeep Yadav has sealed his spot alongside Axar Patel.