India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill, and senior batter Rohit Sharma reached the BCCI Centre of Excellence for fitness assessment and preparations ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup. The Indian squad members are scheduled to assemble in Dubai on September 4 ahead of their tournament opener on September 9 against the hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Pacer Mohammed Siraj have also checked into CoE for pre-season fitness assessment. The process might take place by Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how Rohit, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, approaches the new season.
The 38-year-old is likely to tour Down Under in October for an ODI series (19, 23, 25), but it remains to be seen whether Rohit will turn out for India A in three one-day matches against Australia A on September 30, October 3, and 5 at Kanpur.
A bout of flu had forced Gill to skip the ongoing Duleep Trophy quarterfinal against East Zone, where he was named as the North Zone captain. He is recovering from the illness at his Chandigarh home before flying out to Bengaluru.
It's possible that Gill may fly out of Bengaluru to Dubai, as this time the players will reach Dubai in a staggered manner from their respective locations, unlike in the past when the team would assemble in Mumbai before travelling en bloc. Apart from Gill, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma too has arrived at the CoE for pre-tournament preparations.
There are reports of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shardul Thakur are set to arrive at CoE for the mandatory pre-season assessment.
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