Senior cricketers like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin were among the players who were missing from India’s first practice session in Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant were the notable names who attended the practice session at the WACA in Perth.
There were some Australian journalists who attended India’s first practice session of the tour. Jaiswal who has been named as one of the batters to watch out for by the Australian media smashed a six that landed on the street outside the WACA stadium.
Kohli was the first Indian player from the 18-member squad to reach Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The rest of the team reached in two batches. The practice session on Tuesday (November 12) was an optional one. Thus, according to reports on The West Australian, the senior players decided to take a rest.
India have two full-fledged training sessions scheduled for Wednesday (November 13) and Thursday (November 14). Both of those are going to be held at the WACA in Perth.
Moreover, there are media reports (from The West Australian) that the security has been ramped up their at the WACA. In fact, it is understood that there is a Manchester United-like heavy security all around the Perth city. In fact, the journalists, media and cricket personnel were not allowed to use their mobile phones in and around the ground.
India’s early arrival in Perth caught Cricket Australia and the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) off-guard. However, all of the arrangements are now in place with heavy security.
“There’s been a lot of work in the background to make sure we were ready for them,” WACA chief executive John Stephenson was quoted saying The West Australian.
India to play intra-squad practice match behind closed doors
According to reports, India are all set to play an intra-squad practice match at the WACA in Perth on Friday (November 15). However, the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has barred public viewing of the game. The news comes after India cancelled their only warm-up encounter against India ‘A’ before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The West Australia reported that the Indian team will take part in a three-day intra-squad practice game which will be played from Friday to Sunday (November 15-17).
India’s first Test against Australia is scheduled to start on the 22nd of November at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The ‘Men in Blue’ have won their last two series’ on Australian soil. They will be a hat-trick.
