The upcoming five-match Test series against Australia is anticipated to present a significant challenge for Rohit Sharma and his team. Following a disappointing 3-0 defeat against New Zealand on home soil, India's hopes in the World Test Championship now hang in the balance.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced an 18-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, comprising a blend of young talent and seasoned players. Exciting prospects such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Reddy will face the formidable Australian team for the first time.
While India currently holds the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, their recent form suggests that the hosts will face an uphill battle. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have struggled with poor form recently, emphasizing the need for them to perform at their peak if India is to achieve success in this Test series.
In a surprising move, the Indian team management has opted to cancel their intrasquad match with India A, choosing instead to focus on match simulation at the WACA in Perth. Renowned former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that both Virat and Rohit would have preferred to have some match practice before the first Test.
In an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo, he said, "The lack of a warm-up game might make a difference, especially this time because of the kind of form and confidence the team is going with to Australia. It has been a trend in recent times that there are less and less of warm-up games but on this particular tour, we saw that the India A batters struggle despite being in form in the Indian conditions. So yes, India desperately needed more warm-up games. This time, the drop in pitches of Australia will have a little more life, so even more so."
"India can counter with the fact that the team has performed better when they have been given less warm-up matches. In the 90s, we had many and yet lost 0-4 to Australia. I think Indian batters are getting used to conditions, but this time around, there are many young players. Maybe the earlier team which had experience did not need it, but I think we needed some games here, and I think that Virat and Rohit would have loved to play warm-up games."
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