India is set to embark on a five-match Test series in Australia, aiming to secure a hat-trick of away series victories. In their last two Test tours down under, India emerged triumphant. This time, similar to the previous tour, India will participate in a day-night Test in Adelaide. To prepare for this fixture, the teams will engage in a two-day warm-up game scheduled between the first and second Test matches.
The warm-up match between the visiting Indian team and the Australian Prime Minister’s XI will also be a day-night affair. However, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes it should have been a full-fledged first-class match. In his column for mid-day, Gavaskar expressed disappointment over the decision to reduce the game to just two days.
Gavaskar acknowledged that senior players, who will play a crucial role in the five-match series, could be rested. However, he argued that the rest of the squad would have greatly benefited from a proper first-class match. “By all means, rest the seniors and let them not even travel to Canberra for the game, but give the newer, younger players a proper first-class game rather than a two-day game which will be neither here nor there. After all, the team is going there to play cricket, not to take rest,” he said.
Gavaskar also pointed out that the BCCI still has time to adjust the match to a three-day contest, which would better prepare India’s inexperienced players for the challenges ahead. “The Australians are thirsting for revenge, and the Indians will have to be razor sharp to achieve a hat-trick of series wins there,” Gavaskar wrote. “There’s still time to change it to a three-day game and give the younger, inexperienced players a better chance to succeed against the World Test Champions. C’mon BCCI, you can do it,” he urged.
In the lead-up to the tour, an India A team will face Australia A in two four-day matches. The first game will take place from October 31 to November 1 at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, followed by the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After the A series concludes, the Indian Test team will also compete against the India A squad from November 15-17 in Perth for an intra-squad match.
What do you think, will India manage to secure a hat-trick this time?
