 "Michael Vaughan baffled with Team India's preparations for Australia Test series: 'Surprised India didn't want at least one warm-up game'")
Former England captain Michael Vaughan is baffled with Team India’s preparations for the Australia series after the visitors opted only for an intra-squad match simulation instead of taking part in a warm-up match as they get ready for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Test series gets underway with the first match in Perth on 22 November and to prepare for the tour, Team India has opted for net sessions and centre-wicket match simulation at the WACA. The first India vs Australia match will be played at the Optus Stadium, which is five minutes away from the WACA.
Michael Vaughan questions Team India’s preparations
The Indian cricket team was scheduled to play a three-day intra-squad game at the WACA instead of a warm-up match against one of the Australian state teams but that plan was scrapped for match simulation.
“I can’t get my head around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squad game leading into a series against Australia in their own backyard,” Vaughan said on Fox Cricket. “I just can’t see how you get yourself in that competitive mindset of consequence by playing an intra-squad game. Time will tell.”
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“I’m surprised that this Indian side didn’t want at least one game of cricket, and the WACA’s the perfect venue because it’s a similar pitch to Optus (Stadium), so you get used to the bounce,” Vaughan said.
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Vaughan added that the decision to skip a warm-up match is probably a sign of how things have changed in modern cricket with matches all around the year.
“These players have a different kind of mindset to what we had, whereas we probably needed more games, Vaughan added. “The modern player maybe believes that they don’t need (tour matches). They think they get enough cricket throughout the year and they can react and just adapt. I just like to see teams win and stick a marker down,” he added.
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“They’re playing 12 months of the year and get straight into it, but it’ll be intriguing to see how both sets of players settle on that first day when they’re playing the longer form.”
India won the last two Test series in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 and need to win four Tests this time to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2025.
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