Xtra Time Web Desk: The Indian T20I side led by Suryakumar Yadav had their first training session at the Kingsmead stadium in Durban on Friday ahead of the series opener against Proteas. Shubman Gill joined the squad from UK and was seen at the training session. Gill along with Yashasvi Jaiswal were the first to bat in the nets, indicating the duo might open the batting in the first T20I. Shreyas Iyer and Captain Suryakumar Yadav batted next followed by Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan.
Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh bowled in one of the nets while the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundara and Kuldeep Yadav rolled their arms in the other. Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who had his contract renewed was seen giving a long pep talk at the start of the training session.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jitesh Sharma and Tilak Verma also spent time in the nets. The Men in Blue will have another training session on Saturday before they take on the hosts on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja, who is the vice-captain of the T20I side was not present in the training session. But he is expected to join the squad by Friday evening. The left hander has been holidaying in Europe. Another member of the Indian T20 squad Deepak Chahar is also expected to join the side once his father gets well. Chahar’s father was recently admitted in hospital after suffering a brain stroke. But according to reports, he is out of danger.
The Indian T20I squad reached Durban on Wednesday. Following a break on Thursday, the players got down to training on Friday. Few Indian players were seen meeting the local fans. The Men in Blue will be playing their next two T20Is at Gqeberha and Johannesburg on December 12 and 14 respectively.
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.