Before leaving for Dharamsala for the opening match of the three-ODI series, several Indian players, including Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, took part in a practice session at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.
After receiving clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Rohit remained the main attraction during the nets, while Iyer, Kishan and Jaiswal also continued their preparations for the upcoming ODI series.
Since it was an optional training session, captain Shubman Gill, along with Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, decided to rest after spending three exhausting days in the one-off Test against Afghanistan national cricket team.
Following a brief warm-up session involving stretching and jogging, the players moved to the centre nets, where Iyer was the first to bat. Rohit and Kishan soon joined the vice-captain. Returning from a hamstring injury, Rohit Sharma was hit by Nitish Kumar Reddy’s sharp in-swinger on the very first ball.
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ODI mode: Activated 🔛 #TeamIndia putting in the hard yards ahead of the #INDvAFG ODI series 💪@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/tUdf5DbGKk
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 11, 2026
Rohit Sharma looked slightly rusty at first against Nitish, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar, but gradually found rhythm alongside Shreyas Iyer. Gurnoor impressed with his pace, while Nitish swung the new ball effectively. Ishan Kishan played aggressively against the spinners, and Yashasvi Jaiswal looked the most fluent during the session before the team left for Dharamsala.
Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer Impress During India’s Optional Training Session in Mohali
After spending around 45 minutes facing the pacers, Rohit Sharma was seen having a discussion with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. He later shifted to the spin nets, where he batted against left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and a few Punjab Cricket Association net bowlers.
One noticeable aspect of Rohit’s session was that he chose not to step out aggressively against either the spinners or the fast bowlers. He wrapped up training by practising high catches under the guidance of fielding coach T Dilip.
India’s newly-appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer also appeared in excellent rhythm during the session. The attacking batter, who recently represented SoBo Mumbai Falcons in the Mumbai T20 League, looked comfortable throughout and was mainly challenged by short-pitched bowling from Gurnoor Brar.
Except for Yashasvi Jaiswal, all players who featured in the one-off Test against Afghanistan national cricket team at New Mullanpur skipped the optional practice session. The key absentees included captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar.
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