With several seniors being rested for the Indian cricket team's T20I series against South Africa, the batting line-up will bear a fresh look in the five-match contest. It will be interesting to see what the top-order looks like in the absence of the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday gave his take on the batting line-up in the absence of the seniors, saying: "We know our top three's quality. They are top class. There will be a slightly different top three in this series but what we are looking for (in general) is good positive start and playing according to the situation."
While captain KL Rahul is certainty in the opener's role, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda are the other options who can play in the top-four.
The Indian side sweated it out in the middle on Tuesday as they gear up for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, beginning Thursday at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It was Deepak Hooda who had a long session with the bat.
He specifically asked the throwdown specialist to bowl above his waist so that he can practice the pull shot. Knowing Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada will test him out with the short ball, he does not want to let up on his practice.
Watch: Deepak Hooda sweats it out in the nets
He had a training session with the bat for almost 25 minutes and he tried to perfect the pull shot.
After Hooda, Ishan Kishan also asked the throwdown specialist to feed him balls over his waist to practice the pull shot.