New Delhi: After a humiliating 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand in the recently concluded three-match Test series at home, Rohit Sharma-led India is gearing up for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under. India will lock horns with Australia in a five-match Test series and will have to win at least 4 Tests to be guaranteed a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.
Ahead of the Test series, BCCI has reportedly decided to send KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel to Australia to get some much-needed match practice. Both players will join the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A squad before the start of their second unofficial Test match against Australia A which gets underway in Melbourne on Thursday.
India A squad is already in Australia for two unofficial Test matches against Australia A. The squad consists of some of the players who have also been selected as part of the senior India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India A lost the first unofficial Test by 7 wickets in Mackay. Rahul and Jurel will join the rest of the squad for the 2nd unofficial Test.
As per a report in the Indian Express, the decision to send Rahul and Jurel to Australia was taken by the Indian team management and the Ajit Agarkar-led senior selection panel as both batters have not had much game time of late. Rahul featured in the 1st Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru where he had dismal outings in both innings before being dropped.
Jurel failed to make the cut in the playing Test for the entire series against New Zealand and only came on as a substitute for Rishabh Pant behind the wickets during the 2nd Test in Pune.
No practice match with India A
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit on Sunday confirmed that their scheduled practice match against Gaikwad-led India A ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia has been called off. India were supposed to lock horns with India A to get some game time before the start of the gruelling Test series. However, Rohit said the team felt match simulation within the squad was a better option.
“The management feels that we’d rather have a match simulation where batters can spend more time in the middle and the bowlers can bowl a lot of balls. That is something that we as a team feel more comfortable doing rather than playing a practice game because game time is not a problem,” Rohit said after India’s 25-run defeat against New Zealand in the third and final Test on Sunday.
The Australia tour has now become more important for India after their 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand at home as their hopes of making it to the WTC final depend entirely on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India will have to win at least 3 out of the five Tests to be in contention for a spot in the final and at least 4 Tests to be assured of finishing in the top two.
The BCCI has reportedly decided to fly two Team India stars to Australia to get some much-needed match practice ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Both players will join the India A squad and feature in the 2nd unofficial Test against Australia A. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
