Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma arrive in Colombo for India vs Sri Lanka ODI series – Firstpost

Rohit Sharma landed in Colombo after travelling to Sri Lanka from the United States for the three-match ODI series that begins on Friday (August 2).

Besides the Indian captain, other players selected for the ODIs, including Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana, also checked into the team hotel in the Sri Lankan capital on Sunday evening.

Reports said the ODI players were scheduled to hold a net session at the stadium on Monday but it was cancelled due to rain and wet outdoor pitch.

A Cricbuzz report says that Abhishek Nayar, one of the assistant coaches working with head coach Gautam Gambhir, has been appointed to oversee the sessions. Nayar travelled to Colombo on Monday morning after taking part in the second T20I on Sunday evening.

The remaining team members will join Rohit and the others after the completion of the third and final T20I in Pallekele on July 30. The Indian team has already won the three-match T20I series with an insurmountable lead of 2-0.

All matches in the ODI series will be held at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium. The series will conclude on 7 August, with the second ODI on 4 August.

In other news, Morne Morkel is expected to join the coaching staff under Gambhir as bowling coach, starting with the home series against Bangladesh in September.

Gambhir recently indicated that the management will evaluate the coaching structure during the six-match series in Sri Lanka, with the aim of putting together a complete coaching team for the future.

It is not yet clear whether Sairaj Bahutule, who specialises in spin bowling and is currently acting as interim bowling coach on the tour, will remain with the team. Since Morkel, an expert in fast bowling, does not focus on spin bowling, the team may need a dedicated spin bowling coach.

If Bahutule retains his role, the coaching staff will consist of two assistant coaches (Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate), a bowling coach (Morkel), a fielding coach (T Dilip), a spin bowling coach and the head coach Gambhir. This will bring the total to six coaches, which could be considered excessive.

India’s ODI squad against Sri Lanka:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel , Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

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