Shubman Gill marked his return to competitive training with an intense two hour session, while a fit again Hardik Pandya chose to sit out of India’s main practice ahead of the T20 series opener at Barabati Stadium on Monday.
Gill, the Indian Test and ODI skipper who had been sidelined for 24 days with a neck spasm, looked in full rhythm from the outset.
He began with sharp fielding and catching drills before moving into the nets, where he faced pace and spin from Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Abhishek Sharma.
The left handed opener refrained from batting on the day, instead rolling his arm over for a few spells.
Gill later had an extended discussion with head coach Gautam Gambhir near the centre wicket before shifting to the middle.
He produced a series of audacious strokes that repeatedly cleared the galleries. With the gates open for public viewing, nearly 5,000 fans cheered as he launched balls into the stands, at times overshadowing power hitter Shivam Dube during their rotational session.
Sanju Samson took the first hit at the side nets with Gill, hinting that he may start ahead of Jitesh Sharma in the series opener. The Kerala wicketkeeper batter is still expected to slot into the middle order.
Suryakumar has already made it clear that Gill deserved to get that opening slot.
"Shubman had played before him in the Sri Lanka series. So, he deserved to take that spot. But we gave Sanju opportunities.
"He was ready to bat at any number. Which actually is good to see any player being very flexible batting from 3 to 6 anywhere. So, that is one thing which I have told all the batters. Other than openers, everyone has to be flexible."
If Gill's return electrified the nearly two-and-half-hour session, Hardik's no-show created some talking point.
Having checked in early and trained solo for almost an hour at Barabati on Sunday, the all-rounder skipped the team's main session "as a precautionary measure".
At the media interaction which incidentally held before India's practice, skipper Suryakumar Yadav had said Hardik was "fit and fine," shutting down any fresh injury concerns.
Hardik is returning from a left quadricep injury suffered during the Asia Cup. He signalled strong form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with an unbeaten 77 off 42 balls for Baroda in a 223 chase against Punjab and also opened the bowling for four overs, returning figures of 1 for 52.
He was withdrawn from a scheduled match against Haryana on BCCI instruction for an early check in ahead of the Cuttack T20I.
The management will monitor Hardik’s workload closely across India’s 10 T20Is before the World Cup in February.
He is not expected to feature in every match. India face South Africa in five games followed by five against New Zealand and one official warm up before beginning their title defence against the USA on 7 February at Wankhede.
Suryakumar underlined how indispensable Hardik remains.
"What you saw in the Asia Cup when he was bowling the new ball, he opened a lot of options, a lot of combinations for us," he said.
"That's what he brings. His experience in big ICC games will count a lot. His presence gives a good balance to the side." Hardik’s flexibility, taking the new ball, providing India the cushion to field an extra spinner, and finishing games at a time when Suryakumar is still rediscovering his best, remains central to India’s plans heading into the World Cup.
India will hold three full training sessions through the five match series.