IND v SL 2021: [Watch] Team India sweat it out with all-department drills

With just six days to go in the first India-Sri Lanka ODI, the Shikhar Dhawan-led contingent got into its groove with some high-intensity training on Monday.

In a video shared by the BCCI, Indian batsmen Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan, among others, can be seen practicing both their defensive and attacking strokes in the nets.

Vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar and most members of the bowling group also looked in good rhythm as they burnished their skills in the open nets. Wicketkeeping drills for Kishan and out-field catching practice followed to conclude the practice session.

You can watch the clip here:

Prep & More Prep 🤜🤛Batting 🔥Bowling 💪Fielding ⚡️#TeamIndia in the groove for the Sri Lanka series 👌 👍 #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/JBoyrlx8l1

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 12, 2021

The India-Sri Lanka series was supposed to kickstart on Tuesday, July 13. However, a couple of Covid-19 cases in the host's camp pushed back the start by five days. All members tested negative on Sunday and the series is now expected to see no further delays.

The Indian team has been in the island nation for almost two weeks. The Rahul Dravid-led coaching department has brought the young team back into match intensity through some systematic training programs and intra-squad practice matches.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have all got some runs under their belts. Among the bowlers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Navdeep Saini have been the most impressive.

With so many brilliant options available, the team combination is hard to guess. At the moment, Prithvi Shaw looks certain to open alongside Dhawan in the first match, Chahal and Kuldeep look likely to play together while Ishan Kishan looks set to keep the wickets.

Intriguingly, Sanju Samson has been mostly missing from practice games and net sessions. It will be interesting to see if he'll start ahead of the aforementioned players in the ODIs.

Full schedule of India's tour of Sri Lanka

This may look easy, but it's NOT! ❌Care to try one of these challenges at home? 🏠The Pandya brothers - @hardikpandya7 & @krunalpandya24 - face off in a quick gym challenge 😎 👌 - by @28anand & @ameyatilak #TeamIndia #SLvINDFull video 🎥 👇https://t.co/vQvehckl8X pic.twitter.com/XYeIsLPkt1

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 11, 2021

ODI series:

• First ODI: July 18
• Second ODI: July 20
• Third ODI: July 23

T20I series:

• First T20I: July 25
• Second T20I: July 27
• Third T20I: July 29