Team India coach Gambhir, captain Surya Kumar visit Jagannath temple ahead of first T20 against SA

Ahead of the first T20 International against South Africa at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium, four members of Team India, including head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav, visited the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Tuesday to seek blessings.

Suryakumar, accompanied by his wife Devisha Shetty, entered the 12th-century shrine amid tight security.

"Jai Jagannath," the skipper chanted as he walked into the temple, escorted by security personnel and Puri SP Prateek Singh. Players Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar also offered prayers.

"We had made special arrangements for the visiting Team India players who arrived here for the blessings of Lord Jagannath. Everything was smooth, and they had ‘darshan’ of the sibling deities — Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath — inside the temple," Singh told reporters.

Servitor Rabi Pratihari organised a special puja for the players and performed a ceremonial lamp offering, praying for Team India’s success in the upcoming series.

The team members returned to Bhubaneswar after the darshan, the SP added.