Far away from the hustle and bustle of the JSCA International Stadium on the outskirts of Ranchi, the real action took place on Thursday evening when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hosted most of the India players for dinner at his residence.
With the paparazzi all around, the event attracted more attention than Team India’s practice session. Fans scrambled to get a glimpse of Virat Kohli and the other stars.
Dhoni is expected to be at the stadium for the first ODI against South Africa on Sunday.
The match will also mark the return of Rohit Sharma and Kohli to the side after the series in Australia. The Indians, led by KL Rahul in the absence of the recovering regular captain Shubman Gill, will look to get back to winning ways in the white-ball format.
The wounds of the Test series whitewash are still fresh, but India will look to rest on the experience of the two former captains to make a turnaround.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Friday that the move from Tests to white-ball formats was mentally demanding, but insisted that the group was determined to make that shift.
“It was a disappointing two weeks for us, but we have had a couple of days now to reflect,” Morkel said before the team’s practice session.
“The important thing now is to give all our energy into the white-ball team. We’ve been playing a lot of good white-ball cricket over the last couple of years. Representing India comes first, regardless of format,” he said.
Morkel backed Rohit and Kohli to perform consistently.
“Sure, they are quality players... As long as they are happy to put the hard work in and maintain fitness. I have always believed that to have that experience... You can’t find it anywhere. They have won trophies, they know how to play big tournaments,” he said.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir joined the players on Friday morning after taking a day’s break following the Test match in Guwahati.
Morkel said South Africa would aim to take the momentum into the second leg of their tour.
“A change into coloured clothing and a change of ball brings different energy. But South Africa have momentum, and a confident South Africa side is dangerous. For us, it’s important to start well, and put the last couple of weeks behind us.”
Morkel dismissed the idea of using the ODI series merely as preparation for the
T20 World Cup early next year.
“Preparation for the T20 World Cup is one thing, but every time you put on an India jersey, you represent a lot of people, the fans waiting outside the gates, cheering us on,” he said.
“For me, the focus is to bring momentum back into the dressing room and the way to do that is to play good, solid white-ball cricket,” he said.
Morkel said the conditions in Ranchi required careful assessment. The dew is going to play a key role during this time of the year.
The bowling coach said the series provides a significant opening for the second
line of quicks like Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, since
the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested.
“It’s a great opportunity... they’re going to play against a quality batting line-up... It’ll be a good test to see how they handle pressure, bowl at the death, take wickets.”