Flicks, pulls and drives on show as Rohit Sharma hits stride in nets; India gear up for Afghanistan ODI series | Cricket News

TimesofIndia.com in Mohali: Day after getting a green signal from the Centre of Excellence (CoE), Rohit Sharma looked in fine touch during India’s optional training session at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.Rohit Sharma was the first to step out of the team bus, and security officials and Punjab Police personnel took out their phones as the former India captain was flooded with selfie requests. He obliged a few before heading straight into the pavilion. The 39-year-old started with a light jog alongside his former Mumbai Indians opening partner Ishan Kishan before walking out to bat at the open nets.Rohit looked a bit rusty initially when Nitish Kumar Reddy struck him on the pads. But as the sun started to set, the right-handed batter looked in great touch. The flicks, pulls, cuts and drives were all on display. None of the pacers, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar or Prince Sharma, were able to trouble him.Rohit shared the fast-bowling nets with Shreyas Iyer, with both batters switching ends after every over. In the side nets, Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal went berserk against the spinners.After a good 45 minutes against the quicks, Rohit Sharma was involved in a chat with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. Thereafter, he moved to the spinner nets, where he faced left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) net bowlers. One thing missing from Rohit’s batting was that he never charged down the track against either the spinners or the fast bowlers. He completed the session by taking a few high catches with fielding coach T Dilip.India’s new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer also looked in fine touch. The swashbuckling batter, fresh from playing for SoBo Mumbai Falcons in the Mumbai T20 League, hardly looked troubled. He was tested with short-pitched deliveries by Gurnoor Brar.Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal, those who played in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Mullanpur opted out of the training session. The notable absentees were captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar.India won the Test match by an innings and 300 runs. The first ODI of the three-match series will be played in Dharamshala on Saturday (June 13), followed by matches in Lucknow on June 17 and Chennai on June 20.