Forget Playing a Tour Game Before the India Series, Says Australia’s Head Coach Andrew McDonald

In anticipation of the next four-match Test series in India in February and March, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald is sure that the team’s “no tour game” policy would prove to be beneficial for the Australians.

It is quite doubtful that Australia would participate in any tour matches prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the Australian cricket team is expected to travel in India just one week before the first test, which will start in Nagpur on February 9.

McDonald indicated that the emphasis would be placed on maintaining mental and physical freshness rather than arriving a significant amount of time in advance to play a warm-up game and acclimatise to the surroundings.

The goal for Australia in this series in India is to win their first series there in the last 19 years. As McDonald was reported stating in the Sydney Morning Herald, “No tour game is something we’ve done in the last few series before leaving on overseas trips.” “No tour game is something we’ve done in the last few series,”

“We have the impression that we do not require that particular match practise. We will depart for India around one week before the first game on the schedule. In terms of the preparation, we didn’t want to push ourselves for an excessively extended period of time.

When they triumphed in a three-match series in Pakistan with a 1-0 score in March of the previous year, they used a strategy that proved successful for them.

During that time, Australia’s batters trained on scarified pitches at a camp in Melbourne, and they travelled to Rawalpindi barely one week before the beginning of the first test match.

According to McDonald, “We feel as if seven days is adequate time to get ready and to ensure that we keep freshness for the entire four Test match series.”

“Going to Pakistan was a venture that was met with some degree of success. Our time spent on the ground in that location was cut short.” This time, prior to departing on the arduous journey, they will hold a camp in Sydney for a period of three days for all of the players who will not be participating in the Big Bash League finals.

“We have the ability to be creative within our own parameters. We were able to successfully complete this task in the past with the Pakistan build-up in Melbourne. Taking care of the wickets. Suitable for the task.

“Collaborating with the local groundsmen, who are of great assistance to us in various parts of the country.

We are of the opinion that it is not necessary for us to play a practise game in order to get as near to it as we possibly can.” When Adam Gilchrist captained the Australian cricket team in 2004-2005, they were victorious in India and took home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

In 2017, they had gone close to winning when they began the tour with a first Test victory in Pune, but ultimately they were defeated by the team led by Virat Kohli by a score of 1-2.

During that time, Australia had a taxing 10-day stint on tailor-made pitches at the ICC academy in Dubai, followed by nine days in India prior to their match in Pune.

In light of the uncertainty surrounding Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green’s fitness, Australia’s head coach also alluded to the possibility of taking a large squad to India “Yes, I have full faith that he (Green) will be able to meet the requirements within the allotted amount of time… The difficulty will be in ensuring that we can be inventive in the manner in which he trains to ensure that his body is in proper working order.

“However, we are sure that he will be prepared for the first test match because the medical staff has done a fantastic job in the previous game. This gives us reason to believe that he will be ready to play.

“There is a possibility that the tour will also feature artists such as Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Swepson, and Todd Murphy.

“Matt Renshaw coming in again in Test cricket has had some success there before,” added McDonald. “I’m looking forward to seeing him play there again.”

“Without a shadow of a doubt, Pete Handscomb would probably consider himself unlucky not to be in that conversation for Sydney, but there’s another one that’s coming back into the Test fold in conversation.