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 rehearsal on the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.
After receiving clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Rohit remained the fundamental attraction throughout the nets, while Iyer, Kishan and Jaiswal also continued their preparations for the upcoming ODI series.
Because it was an optional training session, captain Shubman Gill, together with Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, decided to rest after spending three exhausting days within the one-off Test against Afghanistan national cricket team.
Following a temporary warm-up session involving stretching and jogging, the players moved to the centre nets, where Iyer was the primary to bat. Rohit and Kishan soon joined the vice-captain. Coming back 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 within the hard yards ahead of the #INDvAFG ODI series 💪@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/tUdf5DbGKk
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 11, 2026
Rohit Sharma looked barely rusty at first against Nitish, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar, but step by step found rhythm alongside Shreyas Iyer. Gurnoor impressed together with his pace, while Nitish swung the brand new ball effectively. Ishan Kishan played aggressively against the spinners, and Yashasvi Jaiswal looked probably the most fluent throughout 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 just a few Punjab Cricket Association net bowlers.
One noticeable aspect of Rohit’s session was that he selected to not 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 throughout the session. The attacking batter, who recently represented SoBo Mumbai Falcons within the Mumbai T20 League, looked comfortable throughout and was mainly challenged by short-pitched bowling from Gurnoor Brar.
Aside from Yashasvi Jaiswal, all players who featured within the one-off Test against Afghanistan national cricket team at Recent Mullanpur skipped the optional rehearsal. The important thing absentees included captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar.
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