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India will face England in a five-match Test series later this year. The series opener is scheduled to take place at Headingly in Leeds from June 20, and the next four matches will be played in Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester, and The Oval.
Sunil Gavaskar wants India to play more practice matches in England. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Legendary Indian batter and former captain Sunil Gavaskar wants Team India to avoid the mistakes of the recently concluded Test tour of Australia in England when the team travels to the European nation in June to take part in a five-match Test series that starts on June 20 in Leeds. India will face England in five red-ball matches later this year. After the series opener in Leeds, both teams will face each other in Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester, and The Oval.
In his latest column for the Sportstar on Monday, 75-year-old Gavaskar, who was the first batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, wrote India should arrive in England in one group and play more practice matches there.
“The mistakes that were made in Australia should not be repeated. The team should arrive in England in one group and not in four batches as was done in Australia. Yes, the odd player who is recovering from injury can join the team later, but the leaders must be the first to arrive to make a statement that the team is ready for battle.”
“Now that India hasn’t qualified for the WTC final, there’s an additional week for the team to acclimatise by playing some practice games. English conditions mean that the ball will swing in the air and seam after pitching. However much one practices in the nets, the knowledge that even if a batter gets out a few times in the net, he can carry on batting doesn’t make for good mental preparation. Never mind if the opposition for practice matches isn’t top class; the runs scored and wickets taken in a match will boost the confidence considerably,” he added.
He also added that Indian selectors should trim the squad size to 16 for the England tour and not give the India cap to any player just like that.
“It was understandable to some extent to have a large squad of around 20 for Australia, as it is not an easy place to reach, and the body clock does take a few days to adjust to the local time zone. This is not so much of a problem in England, but the change in weather conditions from the hot Indian summer to the cool winds in England can be tricky at the best of times. Still, carrying more than 16 players will indicate the selectors are unsure, and that’s never a good sign. Just because the BCCI can afford to send a large party doesn’t mean the India cap should be given just like that. The usual problem overseas is a lack of practice bowlers, so by all means take a few bowlers over, and they can be given the training and clothing, but not the India cap.”
“There will be some gaps between the Test matches, and these need to be utilised for practice games. Travel in England is by road almost every time, and the India team will drive down to the next Test venue on the last evening of the previous Test match. Since there won’t be a travel day involved, giving the next day off after the Test is understandable, but the next couple should be used for practice. This recent tradition of optional practice should be done away with, and only the coach and captain should decide who gets days off from practice, and this should not be left to the individual player to decide.”
