Rohit Sharma often gives light-hearted answers during press conferences and ahead of India’s Asia Cup opener against Pakistan, another of his statements evoked laughter when he was asked about facing the in-form Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.

“Look, we don’t have Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf in our nets,” Rohit said. “We practice with the bowlers we have. They are all quality bowlers, and they are performing well together for some time.”

Opting to bat in pairs, in terms of batting order, Shubman Gill was the first to face Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, with Rohit at the other end. As soon as Gill was done, he briskly made his way to the enclosed nets just behind the dressing rooms. Soon after, Rohit and Shreyas Iyer, who was the fourth player to take part in the open drills, also followed the same routine.

Even as India’s throwdown specialists Nuwan Seneviratne (being the left-arm thrower, he played the Afridi role) and Dayanand Garani (emulating Rauf) threw from a very high-arm action to keep the batters busy, batting coach Vikram Rathour tried to replicate Naseem by going wide of the crease and getting the ball to move in and jag away viciously with his throwdowns. Even so, Gill watched a couple of balls on his bat before unleashing the cut and the pull; his trademark short-arm jab was also on show.

Meanwhile, Rohit unleashed an array of strokes in the nets. There were also the picture-perfect punch down the ground, and drives through cover. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day preview on the eve of India’s game against Pakistan, Sanjay Manjrekar, though, had a word of caution for both Rohit and Gill.

“Rohit and Gill – [in fact] more Gill than Rohit – have to be careful about their front foot, coming not too much across the line allowing [Afridi’s] late swing and speed to trap him in front,” he said.

Iyer, next in line in the nets, proceeded to attack the first ball he faced – getting the perfect stride forward and drilling one through cover. The cut, straight drives and swivel-pulls were on display, as India’s probable No. 4 showed good touch upon return from a long-standing back injury. Virat Kohli, though, did not opt for the throwdowns.

Later in the evening, Pakistan confirmed their XI against India – it was an unchanged side from the one that beat Nepal in the opener – with all three of Afridi, Naseem and Rauf featuring in it. Both Naseem and Rauf are yet to play an ODI against India – incidentally, Afridi had made his ODI debut against Afghanistan in the 2018 Asia Cup – but will be keen to make an impact again, as they face a potential top four of Rohit, Gill, Kohli and Iyer.