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KL Rahul and keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel are two BGT-bound Indian players flying to Australia a week earlier than the remainder of the Test squad. The duo will feature for India-A, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, in the second unofficial Test, scheduled for November 7 start at the MCG, to get some match practice ahead of the marquee Australia series beginning on November 22 in Perth.
India-A lost the first match in Mackay by seven wickets, with Test hopefuls Abhimanyu Easwaran and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy failing to leave any mark across both innings.
The match, however, made headlines for other reasons; the umpires accused India-A of ball tampering before the start of play on the final day, which led to an altercation between Ishan Kishan and the on-field umpires. Though the officials warned him for showing dissent, Kishan escaped a potential ban for passing a comment.
Meanwhile, Team India had dropped KL Rahul after the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, wherein he returned with scores of 0 and 12 across two innings. Shubman Gill replaced Rahul in the batting order for the remaining two Tests; India’s new number three came good with the bat in the first innings in Mumbai, scoring a gritty 90. India, however, lost all three matches, surrendering the Test series to the Kiwis at home for the first time.
On the other hand, Jurel, who made his Test debut against England earlier this year, hasn’t featured in any of the five home Tests this season since Rishabh Pant’s return. Pant and Jurel are the two glovemen for India for the tour Down Under.
Training and not practice game for India
Earlier, the BCCI and the team management scheduled an intra-squad game between India and India-A at WACA before the first Test in Perth; however, the board altered the plans at the last minute, reducing Team India’s preparation to training in the nets.
Captain Rohit Sharma echoed the same feelings after the final Test in Mumbai, which India lost by 25 runs.
“We are travelling with a squad of 19 players, and only three days were allotted to us. I don’t know how much workload we can get in those three days in terms of getting everyone prepared,” Rohit said on Sunday.
“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,” he continued.
Meanwhile, the rest of the BGT-bound Test squad will fly to Australia on November 10 and will train at WACA stadium in Perth, where they will acclimatise to the playing conditions by training in the nets and centre wicket.
(With inputs from agencies)
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