New Delhi: The Men in Blue is expected to leave for Australia at least two weeks before the first Test, starting on November 22 in Perth. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be playing one or two matches against India A to prepare for the opening Test.
Team India’s third Test against New Zealand will end on November 5 in Mumbai if the match goes to the last day and it is understood that the Test team will be leaving from Mumbai a few days after the series. The BCCI could organise a four-day practice match between India and India A ahead of the first Test to help Rohit and Co. with quality match simulation.
Over the years, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has witnessed a big decline in the quality of practice matches. During MS Dhoni’s captaincy, most of these tour games got unofficial status so that all the team members could bat and bowl. Earlier, these matches would have first-class status.
The senior team introduced the concept of intra-squad matches before the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final during COVID-19, but the A-team tours were stopped during that phase. During the 2023-24 South Africa series both India A and India were in the Proteas nation at the same time and both teams played an intra-squad match before the start of the Centurion Test.
“Normally, home countries nowadays don’t want to provide their best domestic talent for practice. It always helps in quality match practice if a bunch of India hopefuls are pitted against the stars. These are players knocking on the doors and eager to perform,” a BCCI insider said.
Pink-ball practice match before day-night Test in Adelaide
Before the start of the second Test match in Adelaide, which will be a day-night affair, Team India will play a two-day pink ball (D/N) match against Prime Minister’s XI on November 30 and December 1 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The India ‘A’ squad for Australia will be picked after the first round of the Ranji Trophy.
India’s Test Tour of Australia
1st Test: November 22-26, Perth
2nd Test: December 6-10, Adelaide
3rd Test: December 14-18, Brisbane
4th Test: December 26-30, Melbourne
5th Test: January 3-7, Sydney
Rohit Sharma and Co. is likely to arrive in Australia two weeks before the first Test. India will face India A in a practice game before the opening Test in Perth. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
