Idea was to give players lot of time to adapt and grasp situation: Abhishek Nayar

The conversations with management and senior players over making the most of their three-day preparation window were disclosed by assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

During their practice sessions in Perth, the Indian team has made it a priority to give their players, both young and old, a nice time in the middle as they get ready for the difficult Australian conditions for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

In addition to putting the important World Test Championship points behind them—they must win the series 4-1 to advance to the final—India is returning to play a Test series in Australia after a four-year break and is hoping to win the series hat-trick. As a result, the team has scheduled a lengthy training session.

“The coaching staff, Gauti (Gautam Gambhir), and Rohit (Sharma) discussed our goals for these three days before to our arrival in Australia. And the goal was to try to ensure that both the younger and more seasoned men had plenty of time in the centre to adjust and comprehend the situation,” Nayar stated in a video that BCCI shared.

 

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The team achieved the targeted outcomes, the assistant coach added, and they were in the correct frame of mind and on the proper track going into the lengthy tour.

“We persuaded the boys to come in on the first day and played a game where you have to call out because we are returning to play test cricket after four years. Well, if you left, you left. However, the second time, we made an effort to offer them another chance. The second time, we thought the boys were much more at ease, had a greater understanding of the conditions, and had adapted better. Out of it, we achieved our goals.

On the second day, we used the facilities outside as well, bringing the nets in and achieving both quantity and quality in the centre,” the 41-year-old continued.

For match-readiness, Bumrah bowled 18 overs: Abhishek Nayar

Batting was only one aspect of the practice sessions. Nayar went on to say that the bowling unit was the main focus of the second day of the match simulation, with seamers like Jasprit Bumrah bowling long stretches of up to 18 overs in order to improve match fitness.

On the second day, we had our bowlers come in and bowl for stints, increasing the burden and bowling 15 overs apiece. Along with a few other bowlers, Bumrah bowled 18 overs. Getting guys into game sense was the main goal, Nayar concluded.

Key players have had varying degrees of success in recent practice matches. In the practice matches, youthful opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made an impression with an undefeated 58, while Virat Kohli, who has been in poor form with only 250 runs from six Test matches this year, achieved scores of 15 and 30.

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There were some injury concerns for the team because Shubman Gill is allegedly unable to play in the first Test because of a fractured thumb, while KL Rahul was hit in the arm but has since resumed training.