Team India has begun preparations for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the iconic WACA ground in Perth. However, the stadium is surrounded by strict security measures to prevent outside viewing.
The Men in Blue are believed to be secretly preparing hard for the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia. Among the players, Virat Kohli He was the first player from the team to reach the city. The rest of the team, including the support staff, reached Perth after Kohli’s arrival.
Also read: Virat Kohli misses India’s first net session in Australia despite reaching first
Lockdown at WACA as India begin secret training camp
The WACA ground in Perth is being heavily cordoned off to prevent public viewing, according to a report in Western Australia. The Indian team is believed to be secretly preparing for the five-match Test series in Australia.
The stadium is covered with nets, preparations have been made to prevent information from reaching the public and the media. Not only the public, but also employees are restricted in their use of telephones.
The team will go through a match simulation at the WACA Ground, Perth to prepare for the first Test to be played at the Optus Stadium in the same city. Earlier, India was scheduled to play a practice match against India A at the WACA ground.
Match simulation at practice match venue
However, the decision was later changed considering that less time was needed to prepare for the series. Skipper Rohit Sharma After losing to New Zealand in the second Test in Pune, he revealed the reason for the change of plans.
“Look, you know, rather than a practice match, we’ve planned something like a multi-match simulation with India A. I feel like sometimes when you play that practice match, we’re traveling with a squad of 19 players and it was only three days that we were given. was,” said Rohit.
“And I don’t know how much workload we can get in those three days in terms of getting everybody ready. We’re all playing a lot of cricket. So it’s just about hanging out in the middle.”
“So we feel as management that rather than having that, a match simulation where the batsmen can spend more time in the middle, bat in the middle and then the bowler can also bowl a lot of balls. It’s something that we as a team, rather than playing a practice game we feel more comfortable because playing time is not an issue,” said Rohit.
The team management wants to give the players more game time, so they opted for match simulation rather than going for a practice match where they can’t come back once they are out.
Warm-up match after India’s 1st Test
The first test match will be played at Optus Stadium, Perth on November 22. After the first Test, the Men in Blue will play a warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI to prepare for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
The next three Tests will be played in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney respectively. Rohit Sharma and his men need to win at least four matches in the series to confirm their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, regardless of other results.