Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that India should have played in a warm-up match to prepare for their upcoming five-match Test series against Australia. Earlier, India were scheduled to face India ‘A’ in a practice game on the fast and bouncy pitch in Perth. But the team scrapped the warm-ups and rather talked about focussing more on …
Sunil Gavaskar slams India for cancelling warm-up match before Australia Tests
Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that India should have played in a warm-up match to prepare for their upcoming five-match Test series against Australia. Earlier, India were scheduled to face India ‘A’ in a practice game on the fast and bouncy pitch in Perth. But the team scrapped the warm-ups and rather talked about focussing more on net sessions.
It means that India’s first competitive game on the tour of Australia will be the Perth Test from November 22 onwards. Before the Adelaide Test, which is a Day-Night affair, India will face the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in a practice game at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
“For Indian cricket’s sake (I hope) whoever has taken the call to do away with the warm-up game and then reduce the match between the first and second Test against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI to two days will be proven right,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
‘No amount of net practice is enough’
Gavaskar said that India needed the practice match even more after their 0-3 defeat to Tom Latham’s New Zealand. The Little Master said that the Indian batters needed practice, especially after their indifferent performances against Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and other spinners. Gavaskar said that net practice sessions can’t replace the intensity of playing in warm-up matches.
“To be fair, the Indians did score over 400 in the second innings (of the first Test) in Bangalore, but after that, in four innings, they looked utterly clueless against a spin attack that by no stretch of imagination was so dangerous that India couldn’t chase 150 in the fourth innings. Yes, there was turn on offer, but again, the pitches were not impossible to play on,” Gavaskar wrote.
“That is why the cancellation of the team’s warm-up game in Perth against the India ‘A’ team beggars belief. There is no better feeling for a batter to spend time out in the centre and feel the ball hit the middle of the bat. No amount of net practice is ever going to replace that feeling of flow and bat speed that one gets even after a short stay at the crease,” Gavaskar added.
After their loss to the Black Caps, India also lost their top spot in the WTC 2023-25 points table. They need to beat Australia 4-0 to advance to the finals without depending on other results.
