The T20 World Cup is done and dusted and India are all set to start a new chapter under new head coach Gautam Gambhir. In addition, the team will miss the services of senior pros Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, who have announced their retirement from the shorter format after the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the USA and West Indies.
In Rohit's absence, the leadership role has been handed to Suryakumar Yadav, with emerging star Shubman Gill as his deputy. Suryakumar's first test in this brand new era begins from July 27, with the Men In Blue set to play three T20Is against Sri Lanka.
Ahead of the series, the Lankan management roped in Rajasthan Royal's high performance director Zubin Bharucha, who is helping their batters to prepare for the test. Apart from him, Sri Lanka players will also have plenty to gain from their legendary batter Sanath Jayasuriya, who is the interim head coach.
Watch: Gautam Gambhir participates as head coach in first practice session of Team India in Sri Lanka
Talking to the press ahead of the series, Jayasuriya mentioned an area, which he feels his boys should take maximum advantage of. "Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are best players in the world. Looking at their talent and the kind of cricket they have played we all know where they belong, along with Jadeja," Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by AP.
"Their absence will be loss to the Indian team and we have to take maximum advantage out of that," he further said.
Talking about the preparation for the series, Jayasuriya said the players held a six-day camp with Bharucha. "We just started the sessions just after the LPL (Lanka Premier League). Most of the players were playing in the LPL, so they were busy with cricket and what we want from them was to play cricket as much as possible," he said.
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"We got Zubin from Rajasthan Royals and we had about six days of work and also with the other cricketers who finished with the LPL. I hope the players have learnt what management wanted to do in terms of practice and their technique. The preparation was good, and we have two more days in Kandy before the T20 starts," he added.
Jayasuriya said the sessions with Bharucha were intense and the players have been able to learn a lot from him. "It is important to learn new techniques, new approaches and shot making as international cricketers to be effective," he said.
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