Preparatory camp: Dhoni wields willow, Shikhar plays table tennis

Bengaluru, Sep 23: India's limited overs captain MS Dhoni started batting practice here today at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) while opener Shikhar Dhawan swapped cricket bat for table tennis racquet.

At the preparatory camp in M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises, Dhoni hit the 'nets' for the first time in 3 days. The skipper was back wielding the willow, getting ready to face the South Africans.

Dhoni, who retired from Tests last December, had not played a competitive game for nearly 3 months. He was back at his best while batting in Twenty20 charity match on September 17. He scored a match-winning 38 not out in England.

Team India's camp, which began on Monday, was witness to all 32 players confined to indoors for fitness assessment. However, today, some of them, hit the 'nets'.

Apart from Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu too had a hit on the ground, receiving throwdowns. As Dhoni faced bowlers, Dhawan was involved in a table tennis match against Karun Nair.

India and South Africa will face off in a 3-match T20I series from October 2 in Dharamsala. This will be followed by 5 ODIs and 4 Tests between ths sides.

Watch Dhoni batting in the 'nets