It was a change in approach and adapting to the modern-day demands of the game that helped India prosper in white-ball cricket after the heartbreaks in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups. With Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid laying the blueprint, India made the ODI World Cup final in 2023 before lifting the T20 World Cup title last month in Barbados. With Dravid having stepped down from his head coach position and Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is, it was always a matter of curiosity on the kind of approach new head coach Gautam Gambhir would want India to follow.

On Tuesday, India had their first training session at the Pallekele International Stadium ahead of the start of the T20I series against Sri Lanka on Saturday and Gambhir, who oversaw the entire proceeding, stuck to the Rohit-Dravid blueprint.

After a rousing speech from new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav ahead of the start of the net session, openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were asked to face 10 deliveries each in tandem with the message being simple - 'Just attack,' as reported by Revsportz. The batting sessions were divided into two parts, one at the main ground, on the track next to the main pitch where the openers batted for nearly 40 minutes, before the remaining batters - Suryakumar, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh - practised.

Meanwhile, Gambhir had lengthy chats with players like Rinku, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar, and Jaiswal. The all-rounder started off with his bowling practice before he hit the nets with the bat. This did not involve a lot of slogging but rather practised with match simulations under the watchful eyes of new assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

Hardik seemed rather positive in his approach despite the conversations going around him, which largely pertained to him losing the T20I captaincy to Suryakumar. He was primed to take over the role after Rohit retired from the format, given that he was the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning side, but fitness was major concern in him losing the race.

“Hardik is a very important player. He has the skillsets which are very difficult to find. Fitness has been a challenge for him in the last two years. It becomes tough as coach and selector. Until the next World Cup in 2026, we want to look at a few things. That was the main challenge. That was the thought behind it. We wanted the one who is available all the time,” BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar said on Monday ahead of India's departure for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.