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Team India is set to tour Australia for a crucial five-match Test series in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 after the conclusion of their domestic season. This series will be of utmost importance for Rohit Sharma-led India as it is their final assignment in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship.
Team India sets sights on Border-Gavaskar series
India has enjoyed recent success against Australia, winning the last two Test series played Down Under. The team will be aiming to continue their dominance and secure another victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a series they have not lost since 2017.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 will also mark the first Test match between India and Australia since the WTC final last year. Australia inflicted a heavy defeat on India in that final, and the Indian team will be eager to avenge that loss and claim another Test series victory in Australia.
To gear up for the upcoming series, the Indian team has opted not to play any Australian teams in practice matches before the series begins. According to The Times of India, Rohit Sharma and his teammates plan to depart for Australia at least two weeks prior to the first Test, which is scheduled to start on November 22 in Perth.
In preparation for the Tests against Australia, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy champions will engage in one or two intra-squad matches against India 'A', as reported by PTI. India's three-match Test series against New Zealand is set to conclude on November 5, depending on whether the final Test in Mumbai goes into the last day.
Following the completion of the Test series, the Indian team will head to Australia. Similar to their recent tour of South Africa, the BCCI is considering organizing a four-day match between India and India A.
India A to Tour Australia for Practice Matches
The India A cricket team will be touring Australia to play a couple of 'A' Test matches. The team is scheduled to depart India for Australia on October 25.
In recent years, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has favored intra-squad games or matches against the India A team as a means of preparing the Indian national team for challenging tours.
In 2021, ahead of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, the Indian team introduced the concept of intra-squad games. Due to the pandemic, the traditional 'A' team shadow tours were temporarily halted. However, during the India A team's tour to South Africa in the 2023-24 season, the Indian national team faced them in a practice match.
"Normally, home countries nowadays don't want to provide their best domestic talent for practice. It always helps in quality match practice if a bunch of India hopefuls are pitted against the stars. These are players knocking on the doors and eager to perform," a BCCI insider told the news outlet.
The Indian cricket team will participate in a practice match before the second Test against Australia in Adelaide, which is a day/night pink ball match. The Rohit Sharma-led side will play a two-day day/night pink ball game against the Prime Minister's XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra on November 30 and December 1. This practice match will help the Indian team acclimatize to the conditions and prepare for the upcoming Test.
