Doing away with the tradition of warming up for red-ball tours DownUnder with a couple of practice games, India will straightway head to Perth for the first Test against Australia without any significant game-time, as the BCCI has scrapped the sole three-day intra-squad game at the WACA.
India had initially decided on an intra-squad game as their warm-up before the first Test starting on November 22 rather than a practice match against an Australian domestic side. However, it has been learnt that the team management has opted for additional net practice to prepare for the marquee five-Test series, that could potentially decide the contenders of the next World Test Championships final in June, 2025.
India were scheduled to begin their tour of Australia with a closed-door warm-up match against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A at the WACA in Perth from November 15 to 17. India A are currently in Australia for an unofficial Test series.
Vying for a third straight Test series triumph in Australia, India will be under added pressure after shockingly conceding their first Test series at home in more than a decade. While India still leads the WTC standings, the gap has significantly reduced after the two losses against New Zealand in Bengaluru and Pune, and as such, the stakes will be high for Rohit Sharma and his men.
The idea behind the departure from the traditional practice games, could be to allow the top-oder batters more time to prepare for the bounce on the WACA centre strip that is similar to the one in the Optus Stadium in Perth, where the first Test will be played.
In the lead-up to the 2018-19 series, the ‘Men in Blue’ played a four-day match against Cricket Australia XI. For the 2020-21 tour, they started the red-ball leg with a three-day game against Australia A.
India A and the senior team played an intra-squad match in Johannesburg prior to the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Boxing Day last year.
The Indian team is scheduled to fly to Australia shortly after the third and final Test against New Zealand concludes in Mumbai on November 5.