Who’ll lead the strike force?

In the absence of a recuperating Zaheer Khan, bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad will be working overtime. When Zaheer, still nursing his bowling shoulder, made the trip to the World Twenty20 it was primarily because of his experience in English conditions.

With no Zaheer around to lead the attack it’s up to the others to step up a gear. In the one-day series against the West Indies, Ashish Nehra shared the new ball with three different bowlers — RP Singh, Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar. As three of these four pacemen are expected to make the playing XI in the tri-series it’ll be imperative that everyone travelled to Sri Lanka in the best frame of mind. Coming off a 52-day break means this four-day camp will be where Prasad ensures that all his bowlers are hitting the right spot.

Conditions will vary vastly from that in Sri Lanka and South Africa, and how quickly the fast bowlers can adapt will be crucial. On Saturday, Prasad monitored the middle-wicket during the nets session, one from which Team India bowlers operated. Nehra, Sharma and leg-spinner Amit Mishra started off the proceedings bowling to Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik. The next lot was that of RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh.     

Once the nets session was over, Sharma moved to the pitch adjacent to the main one at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and spent time trying to fix his yorker. The lanky bowler failed to take a wicket in the World T20. Then he was coming off his stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, a period he called the toughest of his career.

Nehra was the third highest wicket-taker in the IPL. After being out of the national team for close to four years, Nehra, who has been around for a decade, picked up six wickets in the four-match one-day series in the West Indies. He’ll be looking to make the most of his chances to impress.

Praveen Kumar consistently swung the ball in the nets on Friday and Saturday and on his day can be a handful. RP Singh will also be keen to get his hands on the new ball. Niggles and injuries have laid him low of parts of last year and he’ll be keen to find his rhythm. Over the next month there is an opportunity for these medium pacers to shine on the world stage.

Irfan Pathan was at the National Cricket Academy on Saturday to undergo some strength training and also for a fitness assessment. Ahead of the Corporate Trophy that begins on September 1, Irfan reached Bangalore to spend some time at the academy. He is set to take a call on whether to play all games of the Corporate Trophy after consulting the physio. Others undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA are Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma.

Gautam Gambhir didn’t attend Day Three of the preparatory camp. Opener Gambhir, ranked the No.1 Test batsman, who received the Arjuna award on Saturday, sought permission from the BCCI to attend the ceremony in New Delhi. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh had skipped the Padma awards ceremony in April leading to an uproar. Gambhir ensured that he made news for the right reasons on Saturday.