India cancel intra-squad match to focus on net practice before Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India tour of Australia: Team India has opted to forgo a planned intra-squad match in favour of the additional net practice ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

In Short

• India cancels intra-squad match on the Australia tour
• Focus shifts to additional net practice before the Test series
• Decision influenced by home series loss to New Zealand

India have decided to cancel a planned three-day intra-squad match with the 'A' side during the upcoming Test tour of Australia as the team management wants to focus on additional net practice to prepare for the marquee five-match showdown starting November 22 in Perth.

India were scheduled to begin their tour of Australia with a closed-door warm-up match against Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A at the WACA in Perth from November 15 to 17. India A are currently in Australia for an unofficial Test series.

However, PTI has learned that head coach Gautam Gambhir and some senior players want more time in the nets instead.

Rohit Sharma and his men will head to Australia after a shocking home series loss to New Zealand. Vying for a third straight Test series victory in Australia, the tourists will face added pressure, as a place in the World Test Championship final is also at stake.

It is understood that since the bounce of the WACA centre strip resembles that of the Perth Stadium track, all top order batters would prefer more time in the middle.

An intra-squad match might not work in that scenario, as if a batter gets out cheaply, then he might not immediately get a chance to bat again on the centre strip.

This marks a change from India's last two tours of Australia, when the side played practice games ahead of the main series.

In the lead-up to the 2018-19 series, the 'Men in Blue' played a four-day match against Cricket Australia XI. For the 2020-21 tour, they started the red-ball leg with a three-day game against Australia A.

India A and the senior team played an intra-squad match in Johannesburg before the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Boxing Day last year.

Despite the match, the Indian batting came short in the Test. It's not known whether the outcome of this experiment influenced their decision-making for the Australia series.

The Indian team is scheduled to fly to Australia shortly after the third and final Test against New Zealand concludes in Mumbai on November 5.