IPL 2026: Dhauladhar views, play-off mood – Dharamsala Gujarat Titans’ day without selfies, reels and intense training

HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala TimesofIndia.com v Dharamsala: On a balmy Sunday evening in Dharamshala, Jos Buttler was the first Gujarat Titans player to step into the ground. Pausing for a moment, he looked around at the majestic Dhauladhar mountain range in the background and slowly pulled out his phone to capture the scenic spot.Buttler wasn’t the only one soaking in the scenery. The Indian players, led by the pair of Gurnoor Brar and Manav Suthar, who recently earned their first Test call-ups, also came out with phones in hand. IPL 2026 Orange Cap holder Sai Sudharsan took it a step further, sipping a cup of coffee and asking Kulwant Khejroliya’s left arm pacemaker to record a video of him standing against the breathtaking Himalayan backdrop.Titans strength and conditioning coach Darren Veness looked the most impressed of all. Like a kid in a candy store, the Englishman wandered around the ground, phone in hand, before ending the evening with a selfie alongside his compatriot Buttler.It almost felt like a ritual. Players took to the field with cell phones instead of their gear and who could blame them? It’s not every day you train under the watchful eye of the snow-capped Himalayas, and for most GT players, it was their first date with beauty.Buttler’s unique reachJos Buttler was the first to step up and walk into the nets.Interestingly, you rarely see a batsman working on his technique in the IPL networks. It is mostly slam-bang cricket, with players generally focusing on their range.The 35-year-old Buttler, who seems to have rediscovered his rhythm with back-to-back half-centuries in the last two matches, had a special request for side-arm bowlers and spinners. In the 35 minutes he spent in net, the No. 3 Titans only faced low full shots. At first he struggled to get energy against dunk deliveries, but as the session progressed he started throwing them into racks.It was a very interesting session from Buttler, with coach Ashish Nehra watching the proceedings from behind the nets and applauding every clean hit.Watch out for this TitanConnor Esterhuizen, who joined the Titans as an injury replacement for Tom Banton, looked at his pristine best.Titans performance analyst Sandeep Raju has called on pacers Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan and Kulwant Khejroliya to extend the spell against Esterhuizen. Right-arm seamers Prasidh and Brar tested him with short runs, while left-arm quicks Arshad and Khejroliya targeted the pads and outside off-stump.No one was spared. The 24-year-old pulled, hooked and even played ramp shots against the pace of Prasidh and Brar. The shorter the time they bowled, the faster the ball flew to the stands. Arshad and Khejroliya were also treated with contempt. Whenever Esterhuizen hit a shot, no one around the nets felt safe. The cries of “watch out” only grew louder with every ball he faced.Esterhuizen, who made his T20I debut earlier this year during South Africa’s tour of New Zealand, is highly unlikely to get a game for the Titans, with his four overseas slots seemingly locked down by Jos Buttler, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada. But the stunning Proteas batter certainly looks like an extraordinary weapon in the Titans’ armour.