India are scheduled to face Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series, starting on July 13.
With no Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or even Jasprit Bumrah, Team India have a new line of players who will be representing the Men in Blue in the limited-over series against Sri Lanka.
Under the leadership of Shikhar Dhawan and vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Indian players are undergoing a two-week quarantine in Mumbai before boarding their flight to Colombo.
Now, after having served a week in isolation, the players started to train together and on Friday, the official Twitter handle of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of them training.
In the clip, the "young brigade" namely Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, and Chetan Sakariya spoke about the isolation and on getting their maiden call-up for the national side.
India are scheduled to face Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series, starting on July 13. (Image courtesy: BCCI Twitter)
1. Devdutt Padikkal and Krishnappa Gowtham
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Karnataka players Devdutt Padikkal and Krishnappa Gowtham earned their maiden call-ups in the national team.
"Yeah, it has been great. Even in quarantine, we were trying to do as much as possible in our room, but it (training) is much better here in the gym and it is good to get out there and have a good session," said Padikkal.
As for Gowtham, he said that it was good to train with his Karnataka team-mate. "We play for Karnataka, so we exactly know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Training with him (Padikkal) again, which was fun, but he needs to pick some more weight, so hope he gets stronger," quipped Gowtham.
2. Chetan Sakariya
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Rookie left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya says he has done his workouts properly during the hard quarantine period.
"Everybody is now used to quarantine ... it is good to come out of the quarantine and meet other players and everybody has done work out as per the needs. I am feeling very good," the 23-year-old Sakariya, who has earned his maiden told bcci.tv.
"When I got out of the room, I was constantly looking at myself, I was feeling good wearing the jersey, but once I came to the gym, I started doing my normal workout," said the Saurashtra pacer, who recently lost his father due to COVID-19.
3. Nitish Rana
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Attacking Delhi top-order batsman Nitish Rana, said, "The first seven days were difficult for me, as I was waiting to meet my teammates and I was waiting to wear the jersey. That time was a bit tough for me as each hour was feeling like a year".
The 27-year-old is looking forward to more intense workout sessions with a new trainer. "The atmosphere here is good and I am excited for the series to start. With a new trainer, I learned and did a new thing.
"After seven days I did intense training and I am looking forward to more intense workout sessions," said the left-handed batsman.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad
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Maharashtra's and Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) young batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad said his India call-up is a dream come true.
"We were waiting for this for so many years, the place where you want to be, you work hard for that and when you get to know you are finally there, obviously it feels very nice," said Gaikwad.
5. Varun Chakravarthy
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Tamil Nadu's Varun Chakravarthy said representing India is always a special feeling. "Because there have been lots of seasoned players in this tour and working out just next to them in the gym is a special feeling, it is definitely a dream come true for me".
The mystery spin sensation added, "I am ready to go and if I get a chance, I will give my 100 percent."
6. Team India preparation
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Before leaving for Sri Lanka, the Indian squad gathered in Mumbai and underwent a 14-day quarantine. After reaching Colombo, the players will undergo another phase of quarantine.
The BCCI had shared a collage of members of the Indian squad who had gathered in Mumbai. In the image, all the players were seen in their respective rooms.
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 15, 2021
"The Indians wanted to play some warm-up games against the 'A' team or a team that could be arranged, but the COVID-19 protocols made that a little difficult and that is when a request went to BCCI to play intra-squad games. So, the Indian team will now play one T20 game and two one-day games to prepare for the limited-overs series," the source had told ANI.
7. Team India squad for Sri Lanka
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Former India international Rahul Dravid will travel with the white-ball team to Sri Lanka as their head coach.
India's Full Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh
The three-match ODI series will be played on July 13, 16, and 18, while the T20I series will commence on July 21, and the next two matches will be played on July 23 and 25.
