<p>After finishing a successful foreign tour with a historic Test victory in Cape Town, India will soon begin preparing for a demanding domestic schedule that will include the Afghanistan T20Is, a five-match Test series against England, and the Indian Premier League.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-339685″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-the-batting-legend-wants-india-to-play-tour-matches-before-to-the-australia-test-s.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com the batting legend wants india to play tour matches before to the australia test s” width=”1345″ height=”895″ title=”The batting legend wants India to play tour matches before to the Australia Test Series in December, saying that "planning must start now." 6″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-the-batting-legend-wants-india-to-play-tour-matches-before-to-the-australia-test-s.jpg 275w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-the-batting-legend-wants-india-to-play-tour-matches-before-to-the-australia-test-s-150×100.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1345px) 100vw, 1345px” /></p>
<p>According to the FTP, Australia will be the destination of India’s next foreign Test series, which is scheduled for late 2024, perhaps in November or December. In the meantime, the squad will host Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand as part of the present WTC cycle.</p>
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<p>Batting veteran Sunil Gavaskar has encouraged the Indian team management to learn from their past errors and prepare properly in front of the challenging task, with plenty of time left before the Australia trip.</p>
<p>Gavaskar has noted in a piece for Sportstar how the team’s ability to begin a series has historically been hindered by the lack of tour games before such international trips.</p>
<p>The most recent instance of this was the one-all conclusion of the two-Test series in South Africa, after India’s comeback from an innings loss in Centurion.</p>
<p>“The loss in Centurion is essentially a standard procedure for Indian teams visiting SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) nations; they lose the opening Test match and then have to make up ground during the rest of the series,” noted Gavaskar.</p>
<p>“Australia is hosting the next major series in precisely a year, so preparations must begin right immediately if India is to maintain the winning form from its past two journeys there. From the end of September to the beginning of November, India is reportedly playing three Tests at home against New Zealand and two Tests against Bangladesh, according to the FTP,” he said.</p>
<p>Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, has previously justified his team’s decision to forgo playing tour matches by claiming that because the hosts often have weak teams, the games don’t really matter.</p>
<p>However, Gavaskar thinks that these games might aid in the team’s ability to find a rhythm.</p>
<p>Given that the first Test of the five-match series in Australia is scheduled to begin in early December, the Indians will have enough opportunity to play a few, if not more, first-class matches prior to the series. Following the defeat in Centurion, Rohit said that these matches are meaningless as the host nations have inferior squads and have to play on slow fields. Even if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be preferable to establish a routine in the face of such resistance than to remain home? The batting great stated, “Not only can the bowlers go flat out and test themselves, but the batters can also get some runs under their belts.”</p>
<p>“It would make sense if the Indian cricket board wrote to its counterpart and asked for matches against their national champions or the ‘A’ team before the first Test,” he said, given the positive relationship between the two boards.</p>
<p>Another idea put up by Gavaksar is to schedule practice matches in between the series so that players who haven’t done well enough to play with the reserves may acquire some experience.</p>
<p>“There may then be an additional game to give the reserve players a chance to demonstrate their abilities during the week that separates the second and third Tests and the fourth and fifth Tests. In the next Tests, those who failed to pick either hundreds or wickets in the preceding Tests would also have a chance to regain their rhythm and form. There is no longer any need to comply with what the elders want since no positive outcomes have been seen. It is important to consider what is best for Indian cricket rather than what may work for a select few, no matter how amazing they may be,” he said.</p>
