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After the T20I series against Afghanistan, Team India are on to their next project – the home Test series against England. The five-match Test leg is set to begin on January 25 ay Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. This will be crucial for both sides as the red-ball series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.
Ahead of the start of the Test battle, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has raised questions regarding the preparation of the Indian team. Gavaskar emphasized the significance of adequate preparation, especially after the less-than-impressive performance by some key players in the previous Test series against South Africa.
Sunil Gavaskar raises questions over Indian team’s preparation
Gavaskar did acknowledge the exceptional performances of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the South Africa Test series. However, he pointed out that the majority of the Indian batters had a forgettable outing, raising questions about their readiness for the upcoming challenge against England.
The former India skipper suggested that participating in the ongoing Ranji Trophy could have served as a more beneficial preparation for the Test series. He questioned whether playing a couple of Ranji Trophy games would have allowed the batters to tune themselves and regain form ahead of the crucial England Tests.
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“Would it have been better for some Indian batters to have played a couple of Ranji Trophy games to tune themselves for the Test series against England? Apart from KL Rahul, who scored one of the finest Test centuries seen in the first Test match in Centurion, and Virat Kohli, who batted well without quite getting to a century, the other Indian batters had a forgettable four innings in South Africa,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar.
Wait and see approach
Leaving the final judgment to unfold in the coming weeks, Gavaskar emphasized that the performances in the T20 internationals against Afghanistan and the subsequent Test series against England would determine whether the decision to skip Ranji Trophy matches was indeed the right call for the Indian batters.
“We will, of course, see in the coming weeks whether they should have played the T20 internationals against Afghanistan or a Ranji Trophy game,” Gavaskar added
