The Border Gavaskar Trophy series is all set to begin on Thursday, February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Ahead of the much-awaited series, Australia has decided to not play warm-up games. Former skipper Steve Smith expressed that last time they got a green wicket in India for the practice match, which proved to be irrelevant, as the series had spin-friendly tracks.
Earlier, batter Usman Khawaja also backed Australia’s decision, saying that it’s a “good idea” not to play practice games. Speaking to Daily Telegraph, Steve Smith stated that the team has made the right decision to opt for no tour matches ahead of the Border Gavaskar series. He said,
“The last time we went I’m pretty sure we got served up a green top (to practice on) and it was sort of irrelevant. We’re better off having our own nets and getting spinners in and bowling as much as they can. We’ll wait and see when we hit the ground. I think we’ve made the right decision to not play a tour match.”
We don’t need that match practice as such: Andrew McDonald
Australian coach Andrew McDonald also echoed the same thoughts as Steve Smith. He expressed that they have opted out of practice matches in the last few overseas tours. The coach added that they will reach India a week before the first game, and prepare for the series. The Australian team will be in Bangalore, for five days. McDonald said,
“No tour game is something we’ve done in the last few series, before embarking on overseas tours. We feel as though we don’t need that match practice as such. We’re going to go to India about a week out from the first game. We didn’t want to press for too much longer, in terms of the preparation.”
“We’ve done it before with the Pakistan build-up in Melbourne. Dusting up wickets. Working with the local groundsmen who really help us in and around the country. We feel as though we can get as close to that as possible without necessarily having a practice game,” he added.
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