India team management has done a U-turn over its stance of not playing any practice matches before the five-Test series in Australia. Now it has been reported that India will indeed play an intra-squad match at the WACA Stadium in Perth but no one will be allowed to watch the game.
As per the original itinerary, the Indian team was supposed to practice at the WACA Stadium for ten days before the first Test began at Perth Stadium on November 22. This practice included a practice game of two days against the India A side that is already in Australia.
However, before India’s departure to Australia, Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, India’s coach and captain, revealed that the practice game against India A was canceled due to injury concerns and replaced with center wicket match simulation practice for the Test hopefuls.
India Set to Play a Three-Day Intra-Squad Warm-Up Match at the WACA, Perth
However, now as per a report in The West Australian, the Indian team management has changed its mind and will engage in a three-day intra-squad match at the WACA, Perth. In order to keep their tactics a secret before the first Test match against Australia, the BCCI has chosen to play the game behind closed doors.
The BCCI has instructed WACA ground workers to switch off their phones and refrain from snapping images during India’s intra-squad practice match, the report also stated. To keep the public out, black screens will be placed over the ground. The visitors’ net session at the WACA on Tuesday was noteworthy.
The visiting team started their net session to get used to Australian conditions after arriving in Perth earlier this week. Virat Kohli was conspicuously absent from the practice session, although players like Rishabh Pant, Ashwin, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul were visible in action.
Optus Stadium will host the opening Test of the much-awaited series on Friday, November 22. The remaining games of the series will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Between the first and second Tests, India will play a two-day warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI.
Rohit Sharma is more or less confirmed to miss the first Test in Perth and Gautam Gambhir revealed that in his place one of KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran will open for India along with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
As an opener, KL Rahul has amassed 2,551 runs at an average of 34.95 in 75 Test innings, with seven hundreds and twelve half-centuries. In his two appearances for India A against Australia A in the second unofficial Test, he scored four and ten.
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