The Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) faced criticism after calling off a practice match against India A which was scheduled prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Given the dismal performance many cricketers have shown recently, many Indian players seem to have convinced the team management to arrange an intra-squad practice match for the duration of three days. However, the board is interested in conducting the match in a closed center, without any outside spectators.
Moreover, the BCCI does not wish to elaborate on any issue before the start of the series hence, wants to keep all the things in a shroud.
The BCCI confirmed that the internal three-day warm-up game at the WACA would run from Friday to Sunday. The match which was scheduled warmed up for the players had no spectators as BCCI controlled the public view, the Romans of the Western Australian reported.
Some of the Indian players who landed on the Australian soil a few days back have started their training camp. Virat Kohli was one of the earliest arrivals in Australia but he skipped the first practice on Tuesday. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin also did not attend the ‘optional’ session.
In order for the Indian cricket team to stay alive in their own World Test Championship final qualification hopes, they must win over Australi 4-0 in the best of 5 series. India after the dismal 0-3 series loss to New Zeland, slipped to second place in the points table behind Australia which is on top.
The presence of top performers like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, etc. will be a decisive factor for the outcome of the series. As for skipper Rohit, it is still unclear whether he will be part of the first Test match at Perth.
