“Australia took a very smart decision”

Former South African batter Jonty Rhodes feels that Australia’s decision not to play a practice match ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was a “very smart” move. The visitors opted out of warm-up games and instead set up a four-day preparatory camp in Alur, focusing on facing spin bowling, among other things.

Star Australian batter Steve Smith had earlier remarked that playing a tour game in India was a futile exercise during their last trip. The former skipper claimed that the visitors were served green top wickets, which were different from the turning tracks usually on show in the subcontinent.

Australia ended up losing the four-match rubber by a 2-1 margin, which was their third consecutive Test series defeat in India.

Opining that Australia made the right call by skipping the tour matches, Rhodes told Dainik Jagran:

“I’ve seen the practice pitches in India and it has a lot of footmarks. The main pitch is used for training purpose. These days all the teams play a lot of cricket and turning tracks are not limited to India. It is important how much time you spend there and how much you prepare, this helps you adapt to the conditions.”

Agreeing with Smith’s comments regarding the warm-up game, Rhodes continued:

“I understand what (Steve) Smith wanted to say. He knows the practice pitches will be greener and match will be played on the training pitch and Australia took a very smart decision. Players are playing all around the world and they have evolved into smart cricketers. Both the sides will engage in an exciting Test series”

The visitors have only won one Test in India since 2004. The Men in Blue have maintained a formidable home record, which encompasses an 11-year winning streak. They last suffered a home Test series loss in 2012 at the hands of England.

Australia are battling an injury crisis ahead of the first Test

With Cameron Green’s broken finger yet to fully heal, it has thrown the Australian team combination awry. The absence of the all-rounder, coupled with injuries to Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, could see a slight imbalance in the playing XI, with the number of spinners played being a match-defining call.

The Aussies will lock horns with India in the first Test in Nagpur on February 9.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

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Also Read: “I don’t think we win in India by being conservative” – Ian Healy on Australia’s team combination for the 1st Test