India Tour of Sri Lanka – Shikhar Dhawan: After spending 17 days in quarantine — 14 days in Mumbai and 3 days in Sri Lanka — Shikhar Dhawan-led Team India finally stepped outside to enjoy a training session ahead of their limited-overs series against Kusal Perera’s side, beginning July 13. Under the watchful eyes of head coach Rahul Dravid, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav & Co cleaned up their rustiness in the hotel lawn.
Shikhar Dhawan & Co were divided into small groups and asked to play footvolley before they continued the rivalry in poolvolley. All of that was part of their physical conditioning routine as many of them have not had an outdoor session since the IPL 2021 was suspended on May 4.
Out of quarantine 👍
Fun activities 😎#TeamIndia made the most out of their day off post quarantine before they headed to the nets in Colombo 👌 👌 – by @28anand & @ameyatilak
Watch the full video to witness how the fun unfolded 🎥 👇 #SLvIND https://t.co/k3BiqHW1VM pic.twitter.com/d7XySHAI2O
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2021
“Everyone has been cooked up in their rooms for the last 17-18 days. It’s not easy. So, honestly, it was really good for the boys to get out and moving a little bit. We have a nice little area inside the hotel, So, it was good before we head out to practice tomorrow. I just wanted the boys to get their legs moving and get the arms going because a lot of them haven’t thrown in a long time,” Rahul Dravid, head coach of the tour, said in a video released by BCCI on Saturday morning.
India Tour of Sri Lanka: With lockdown restrictions preventing them from taking the field, the players mostly had to resort to indoor gym sessions to keep themselves fit. In Sri Lanka, they finally managed to step outdoors and get the rustiness off before facing Kusal Perera’s side in the 1st ODI in Colombo on July 13. Furthermore, it was also a break the ice session as there are six newcomers in the team.
📸📸 Snapshots from #TeamIndia‘s first training session in Sri Lanka 💪💪#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/hzBx8DNye2
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 2, 2021
“Today was more about fun-based activities as the guys have been off any impact work a long time. So, it was just about getting them into the groove, getting some impact work. We are lucky to have a ground at the hotel. We divided the teams in a way so that everyone gets to know each other more as many of the guys are new. It was more of breaking the ice,” said Al Harrsha, India’s Strength & Conditioning coach for the tour.
India Tour of Sri Lanka: As for the team combinations and preparations concerned, under Rahul Dravid’s mentorship, the 25-member squad including standby players will play an intra-squad practice match ahead of the three-match ODI series.
At the pre-departure press conference, Rahul Dravid reiterated that the aim will be to win the series while giving opportunities to some newcomers. However, for some including skipper Shikhar Dhawan, it will be an opportunity to score some runs and take some wickets to be in contention for a place in the ICC T20 World Cup squad. For two spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Singh, it will be their chance to get the form back.
“It’s slightly different. When you are at the developmental level, the goal is different from this. we have a really good squad here, 20 players. It will be unrealistic to expect everyone to get an opportunity in this short series. We’ll come up with what we think is the best combination to win the series and then see along the way. There are plenty of youngsters, even if they don’t play, it’s a great opportunity for them to learn from seniors like Shikhar. It’s very different worlds – U-19 and A team and this,” Rahul Dravid said.