After a disappointing T20I leg in which India lost 0-2 in Ireland and suffered a 0-4 defeat against England, the focus has shifted to the three ODI matches. But ahead of the opening game at Edgbaston, it wasn’t just India’s preparations that attracted attention. At the India meeting in Birmingham on Monday, the head coach Gautam Gambhir and a great batter Virat Kohli they were not seen interacting, although Gambhir spent a lot of time with several other members of the team. TimesofIndia.com was present at the meeting and observed that while Gambhir had several discussions with captain Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and other staff, there was no direct discussion between him and Kohli during the session.
There is no Kohli-Gambhir interaction in practice
The main talking point from the last session of India’s training ahead of the first ODI was the absence of any synergy between Gambhir and Kohli.The division had a full squad of 15, including ODI captain Shubman Gill, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the entire bowling team. Prince Yadav, who replaced the injured Harshit Rana in the ODI squad, also trained with the team.Otherwise it was a routine session, with the players going through batting, bowling and practice. Shreyas Iyer did not hit the nets, while the rest of the batsmen sat in the middle.
Kohli joins Kotak
Kohli, meanwhile, completed a long batting session before talking to batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.The former India captain, who is known for his dialogue, was seen shaking hands several times while talking to Kotak. However, unlike the performance of Gambhir and other senior players, there was no visible exchange between the head coach and Kohli during the training session.While it is possible that the inputs were sent through Kotak, no direct conversation between Kohli and Gambhir was seen during the training session.
Gambhir chats with Gill, Rohit
As the session progressed, Gambhir took part in a lengthy discussion with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, the rest of the coaching staff and Rohit Sharma.Like the previous day, Rohit joined the batting nets after completing the practice sessions. He then spent a lot of time looking at the supplies from the parts specialist.Another notable moment came when Gambhir and Shubman Gill were seen having a long conversation near the pitch. The pair appear to be assessing the situation and the situation ahead of Tuesday’s opening game. Gambhir also had some extended chats with Rohit Sharma as India prepared their preparations.
