Anil Kumble was taken aback by BCCI’s decision to cancel the practice game before India’s first Test match against Australia in Perth, starting November 22.
Source: NDTV
Anil Kumble, former spinner for the Indian cricket team, was surprised by the BCCI’s decision to cancel the practice match scheduled ahead of the first Test against Australia, starting November 22 in Perth. The team was supposed to play a warm-up match against India A, but after India’s crushing 3-0 defeat to New Zealand in the Test series, the BCCI scrapped the practice game.
Speaking on JioCinema,Anil Kumble said the practice match would have been ideal preparation for the Indian team, especially before facing Australia. He emphasized that nothing beats real match practice. “No matter how much you practice in the nets, facing bowlers in an actual match is a different ball game,” Anil Kumble added.
Meanwhile, two players, KL Rahul and Dhurv Jurel, are traveling to Melbourne to join the India A squad. They will play in the second four-day match against Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from November 7. This will help them get some game time before joining the main squad for the Test series in Australia.
Sources mentioned that Rahul and Jurel flew out after the third Test in Mumbai, where India lost to New Zealand by 25 runs and suffered a 3-0 series defeat. Rahul had earlier played three Tests in the home season but didn’t score well, while Jurel didn’t feature in any of the five home Tests, although he was a substitute keeper in one match.
The India A team, captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad, lost their first four-day match against Australia A by seven wickets. B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, and pacer Mukesh Kumar were the standout performers in that match.
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