Former England captain Michael Vaughan was left surprised as Team India did not opt for a proper warm-up game to prepare for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Vaughan believes that playing a practice game at the WACA would've helped them adapt to the pace and bounce which is similar to Optus Stadium. Instead of playing a warm-up game, India opted for a match simulation intra-squad two-day game. The move did not sit well with cricketer-turned-commentator Vaughan.
"I can’t get my head around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squad game leading into a series against Australia in their own backyard. I just can’t see how you get yourself in that competitive mindset of consequence by playing an intra-squad game. I’m surprised that this Indian side didn’t want at least one game of cricket, and the WACA’s the perfect venue because it’s a similar pitch to Optus (Stadium), so you get used to the bounce," Vaughan said while speaking to Fox Cricket.
During the match simulation, Shubman Gill injured his thumb whereas KL Rahul copped a blow to his elbow. While Gill is unlikely to feature in the Perth Test, Rahul practised in the nets on November 18 and is fit to play the series opener.
Vaughan on modern players' mindset
Vaughan did not agree with India's move but pointed out the difference in mindset of players of current generation.
"These players have a different kind of mindset to what we had, whereas we probably needed more games," the 50-year-old said. "They’re playing 12 months of the year and get straight into it, but it’ll be intriguing to see how both sets of players settle on that first day when they’re playing the longer form. They think they get enough cricket throughout the year and they can react and just adapt."
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is set to miss the first Test and Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side against Pat Cummins' men.
