It has been over six months since the Indian team last played T20Is, and the bunch that exclusively plays only this format could be a bit rusty. For some, their last competitive matches could have been during the IPL. So, before the start of the Asia Cup 2025, fielding coach T Dilip put some extra emphasis on the drills.
Team Surya vs Team Shubman
In a video posted by the BCCI, the coach set out a challenge for a bunch of players, to make direct hits to the stumps. And just to make it more competitive, a small prize money was also kept aside for the drill. The only rule was, to finish the challenge first, to emerge victorious.
Two groups were formed, one led by Suryakumar Yadav, and the other one by Shubman Gill, with each group getting 10 balls each to hit the target. For starters, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Sanju Samson missed their targets. Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav also had narrow misses. Rinku Singh was first to hit, putting Shubman’s team in front. Soon, Hardik Pandya and Jitesh Sharma too hit the stumps. The victory hit came from Varun Chakravarthy’s hand, that won them the prize money as well.
Hardik, Jitesh & Varun Hit Bulls Eye
Now, Team India play their first match on September 10 against UAE, followed by the clash against Pakistan on the 14th. If all goes well, and both team make their way to the final, they will face off, twice again. But for that Gautam Gambhir and the skipper would have to get their team combination right.
The foremost choice to make would be, between keepers Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma. Various reports have suggested that the latter might be preferred, but there is still no surety.
