In order to get some playing experience before the five-Test series starts in Perth on November 22, India’s batsmen KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel will travel to Australia one week ahead of the rest of the Test team.
Jurel and Rahul will be in line for India. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team will play the second and last four-day match at the MCG starting on November 7. In Mackay, where the last day was tainted by a ball-change controversy, India A lost the opening match by seven wickets. However, Ishan Kishan avoided a dissent charge following a confrontation with the on-field umpire.
India lost 3-0, their first home defeat in twenty-four years. Jurel hasn’t played in any of the five home Test matches since Rishabh Pant’s return, despite making his Test debut against England earlier this year. Since the England series ended in March, he has played in two red-ball matches, one for the Duleep Trophy, and the Irani Cup last month. Rahul scored a quick 93 off 121 balls against Mumbai after managing just 2 and 0 in the Duleep Trophy match.
Given that the Indian team canceled their sole intra-squad warm-up match for center-wicket match simulation in Perth, it seemed appropriate to send both players early to receive some match practice.
“The management believes that Rahul, Jurel to leave early for Australia and play second A game would like a match simulation in which bowlers may deliver a lot of balls and batsmen can spend more time in the middle. Since game time is not an issue, that is something that we as a squad feel more at ease doing than playing a practice game.”
Before the series opener at the Optus Stadium, where they last played on the 2018–19 tour and won 2-1, the Indian squad will train at the WACA, an old site in Perth, before leaving for Australia on November 10.
Unless they change the batting order, India is likely to miss Rohit for that first game due to his personal reasons. His direct replacement in the squad is Abhimanyu Easwaran, who scored seven and twelve in the first A game after hitting four consecutive first-class hundreds at the beginning of the Indian domestic season.
Read More:
Couch historic hat-trick and Agar’s guile dismantle Tasmania
