Gautam Gambhir's Special Ploy For India's Intra-Squad Match, Copies European Football: Report
Team India's only practice match before the five-Test series against England gets underway at Beckenham on Friday. The four-day intra-squad contest will see the Shubman Gill -led side taking on India A, likely to be led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. The fixture could come in handy for some of the players who were not part of the India A squad for the two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. In addition, head coach Gautam Gambhir has demanded secrecy, just like the 2024/25 Australia tour.
As per news agency PTI, Gambhir has demanded for a "closed door session to prevent the opposition from getting any ideas on the tactical front, emulating a long-established practice among European football clubs."
As bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Wednesday, building the stamina to bowl and field 90 overs a day is very different from normal net sessions.
The four-day game, which doesn't have the official first-class status, gives batters a second go if someone is dismissed cheaply.
With 360 overs of match simulation available over four days, it will give the team management a chance to allow the bowling unit get enough overs under their belt.
That would be handy in ensuring that the bowlers -- be it a spinner or a pacer -- have the requisite rhythm in actual match. Gambhir will have some work to do in terms of zeroing in on lone specialist spinner for Headingley.
There is Ravindra Jadeja, whose superior batting becomes a huge factor in SENA countries but against England's 'Bazballers', Kuldeep Yadav 's versatility could complement pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah better if India harbour any hopes of picking 20 wickets.
Jadeja versus Kuldeep is the biggest playing eleven jigsaw puzzle that needs to be sorted by Gambhir and the coaching staff.
Similarly, the intra-squad game will also give the coaches and skipper Gill a chance to see which of Akash Deep 's fuller length or Prasidh Krishna 's back of the length stuff works better in these conditions.
Bumrah, who will be playing a red-ball game after six months, will also get a chance to bowl multiple spells and test his fitness having only played IPL since his comeback from a lower back stress injury.
The first Test kicks off next Friday at Leeds' Headingley.
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