[Watch] India's Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad sweat it out in the nets before 1st ODI vs ZIM

Shubman Gill (L) and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the nets during India's practice session. (P.C.:Sony Sports Network)

Indian batters Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad hit the nets at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe ahead of the first ODI set to take place between the hosts and the Men in Blue on Thursday.

The duo looked solid in their strokeplay as the ball seemed to hit the middle of their bat more often than not. It is very important for both of them to find their timing early and they seem to be shaping up nicely and look focused for the upcoming series.

Here's the video posted by Sony Sports Network on Twitter:

The sound of the ball being middled = pure happiness 😍

Watch out 🇿🇼, #TeamIndia batters are on 🔥🔥 in the nets! 😏

Watch the 1⃣st ODI as India take on Zimbabwe - This Thursday, 18th August, 12 Noon onwards only on #SonySportsNetwork 📺

#ZIMvIND #TeamIndia #SirfSonyPeDikhega https://t.co/4qz554xTB7

Shubman Gill likely to pip Gaikwad at No.3

With KL Rahul back in the team and set to lead the side, it is almost confirmed that he will be opening the batting with vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan. This means that either Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad could get a chance to bat at No.3 in the ODI series.

Gill had a sensational ODI series against West Indies, where he scored 205 runs in three games. The youngster seems to have worked on the aspect of inconsistency. Moreover, Gill also has the ability to bat in the middle order, as he did for India's U19 team in the World Cup four years ago.

Shubman Gill Preparing ahead of Zimbabwe ODI #INDvsZIM https://t.co/SFN5QdaQW6

Ruturaj Gaikwad, on the other hand, hasn't made his ODI debut yet. Despite making four hundreds in five games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Gaikwad had a poor T20I series against South Africa and that might have just pushed him back in the pecking order.

Even among other options like Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi, it looks like Gill might get the nod for the No.3 position.

India's squad: KL Rahul (c),Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar.