The incident came at the end of a high-tempo nets session at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium, where both Kohli
and Rohit Sharma trained with characteristic focus even as speculation continues to swirl around their futures in the
lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Kohli looked in commanding touch as he took on throw-down specialists Raghu and Nuwan Seneviratne, who cranked up
serious pace at him. He middled the majority of deliveries, occasionally beaten by raw pace but largely dominating the
session with crisp stroke-making. Rohit, batting in the adjacent net, also went about his drills with intensity, rarely
giving the impression that either of the senior batters is slowing down despite the scrutiny surrounding their long-term
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Gambhir watched the proceedings closely, positioning himself between the two centre nets to observe both senior batters.
But once Kohli wrapped up his session, he rested both bats on his shoulders and walked straight past the coach without
exchanging a word, according a report in news agency PTI — a moment that did not go unnoticed given the chatter around
their professional dynamic in recent days.
Rohit, who followed soon after, paused briefly to speak with Gambhir before heading into the dressing room, offering a
contrast that only added to the visual intrigue surrounding Kohli’s silent walk-by.
Away from the spotlight on the senior duo, the rest of the Indian squad trained with equal intensity. Yashasvi Jaiswal
sent a flurry of strokes over the leg side boundary, while Rishabh Pant, the last batter to take strike, went hard from
ball one. With the surface expected to be conducive to high-scoring strokes on the black-soil pitch, India’s batters
approached the nets with an aggressive mindset.
Both Rohit and Kohli got off to a sumptuous start. Rohit smashed 57 off 51 balls while opening the batting. Kohli went
on to hit his 52nd ODI century. He finished with 135 off 120 balls in an innings laced with as many as seven sixes. It
was mainly due to Rohit and Kohli's brilliance at the top that India managed to put 349 runs on the board, which proved
17 runs too many for the Proteas, who put on a spirited effort despite getting reduced to 11 for 3 in the chase.
India lead the three-match series 1–0 and will look to seal the contest on Wednesday.