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After flying from the United States to Sri Lanka for the next three-match ODI series, Rohit Sharma has arrived in Colombo. On Sunday night, players who were only picked for the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Sri Lanka, with the exception of the Indian captain, checked into the ITC Ratnadipa hotel in the capital of Sri Lanka. Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Shreyas Iyer, and Virat Kohli were among them.
On Monday, the ODI players will take part in a net session at the stadium, according to team sources from Sri Lanka. Abhishek Nayar, one of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s assistant coaches, has been assigned by the Indian team management to supervise the practice in Colombo. Following the second T20I on Sunday night, Nayar departed for Colombo on Monday morning.
After the third and final Twenty20 International in Pallekele concludes on July 30, the remaining members of the squad will join Rohit & Co. With a commanding 2-0 lead, the tourists have already won the three-match Twenty20 International series.
The R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium will host all three of the ODI series’ matches beginning on August 2 in Colombo. Following the second ODI on August 4, the series ends on August 7.
In the meantime, Morne Morkel is anticipated to become a bowling coach for Gambhir’s coaching team. It is expected that he would be part of the team from the start of the September home series against Bangladesh.
In a recent statement, Gambhir stated that the team management would be assessing the coaching staff during the six-match series in Sri Lanka, with the intention of hiring a full-time staff for subsequent series. Sairaj Bahutule, a spin bowling specialist who is now touring Sri Lanka in his capacity as an acting bowling coach, is still not sure if he would stay on. The team might need a specialised spin bowling coach because Morkel, a fast bowling specialist, isn’t well-known for his skill in spin bowling.
The team would have head coach Gambhir, two assistant coaches (Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate), a fielding coach (T Dilip), a bowling coach (Morkel), and a spin bowling coach if Bahutule stays in his role. This would increase the number of coaches to six, which might be seen excessive.