India and India A face off behind close doors as ‘There’s some quality energy’ away from prying eyes over the next four days.
India and India A will play a 4-day game at Beckenham.
India will play the visiting India A team in a four-day match at Beckenham as the final stage of their preparations for their five-Test series against England, which starts at Headingley on June 20.
In some form, the game will take place from Friday to Monday, although it will be played behind closed doors, reminiscent to how the Indians practiced at the WACA field in Perth during the 2024–25 Test series. The training nets at WACA were shrouded in a “black veil of secrecy” on that particular day, much to when India trained in Perth for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel told bcci.tv, “Two days [of] practice so far, conditions suited the fast bowlers. Early on in the tour is very exciting, you know, it gets their [the players’] confidence going. It was testing for the batters, which also in a way helps them to prepare for what’s to come.
“I don’t think the wickets [are] going to be as spicy as the ones we experience here [in the Tests]. There’s been a lot of good banter between bat and ball. But I think that’s only because the wickets are a little bit spicy. As soon as the wickets go flat, the bowlers tend to back off. So I am going to tell them not to only talk when the wickets are nipping around, but when it’s flat, that’s when we are going to need the character.”
Although some of the players in the squad, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Shardul Thakur, did play for India A in one or both of their four-day matches against the England Lions, the senior India team has not participated in a warm-up tour match since arriving in England.
“Now it is slowly building towards that first Test match. For me, the main thing – I think it’s crucial in England – is consistency. There is consistency when we practice. It’s consistency off the field, you know, finding your process, what’s going to work for you as an individual.
“We’ve got a great variety in our attack of guys with different skill sets. So, you know, can they do that and still execute the basics very well.
“All in all, very happy with the start so far. I was a little bit nervous in terms of the lack of red-ball [cricket] we’ve played, but seeing how the guys are moving around and training the last three days, it’s a pleasing sight. There’s some quality energy in this group and, you know, that’s what you need. You need to go into a Test series confident, you need to have that team spirit in the group and I think so far they have done a great job.”