India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has begun preparations for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka under the watchful eyes of former captain MS Dhoni.
India are set to travel to Sri Lanka for their World Test Championship fixtures, with the first Test scheduled to begin on August 15. Pant is expected to play a crucial role in the middle order as Shubman Gill’s side looks to overcome a challenging assignment in spin-friendly conditions.
The left-hander has travelled to Ranchi, where he is training alongside Dhoni and former India spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. Videos circulating on social media showed Pant and Dhoni leaving the former captain’s farmhouse together, while several fans also shared glimpses of the training sessions.
The Sri Lanka tour comes at an important time for Pant, who endured a difficult outing in India’s recent Test series against South Africa at home. With conditions in Sri Lanka expected to heavily favour spin, Pant will be hoping the training stint with Dhoni helps him fine-tune his game before the two-match contest.
Dhoni, widely regarded as one of India’s finest readers of spin bowling and wicketkeeping conditions in the subcontinent. Pant has regularly sought his advice over the years and shares a close bond with the former India captain.
The wicketkeeper-batter has also been working on his white-ball game in recent weeks under former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as he looks to rediscover his best form across formats.
INDIA UPDATED SQUAD FOR SRI LANKA TESTS
India’s squad for Tests against Sri Lanka: Shubman Gill [C], KL Rahul [VC], Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant [WK], Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel [WK], Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Auqib Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain
– Ends
