‘I’m Surprised’: Michael Vaughan Baffled Over India’s Refusal To Play Warmup Matches Ahead Of BGT

India is all set to take on Australia in first Test of highly awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy starting from November 22nd. first Test of 5-match series will take place at Optus Stium in Perth and India enter into contest as underdogs given ir poor display in a 3-0 home Test series loss to New Zealand.  

Ahe of opening clash, Team India decided not to play any warmup matches and intra squ match against Australia A was also cancelled as confirmed by captain Rohit Sharma.  This move hasn’t gone down well with former England Captain Michael Vaughan as he spoke out. 

Michael Vaughan baffled with India

Baffled by India's decision to he into high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia without a proper warm-up game, former England captain Michael Vaughan has raised concerns about how tourists would get into a "competitive mindset" without match practice.

India decided against playing a match against an Australian domestic side in run up to five-match Test series, starting in Perth from November 22, marking a departure from ir approach on previous two tours of Australia.

"I can't get my he around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squ game leing into a series against Australia in ir own backyard," Vaughan told 'Fox Cricket'.

"I just can't see how you get yourself in that competitive mindset of consequence by playing an intra-squ game. Time will tell." But India have also called off ir scheduled three-day intra-squ match with ir 'A' team. y have inste opted to focus on centre-wicket training at WACA in Perth.

Indian think tank believed that bounce of WACA centre strip closely mirrors that of Perth Stium pitch. As a result, y felt it would be beneficial for all top-order batters to spend more time in middle.

"I'm surprised that this Indian side didn't want at least one game of cricket, and WACA's perfect venue because it's a similar pitch to Optus (Stium), so you get used to bounce,” Vaughan said.

Australia h also skipped warm-up matches before last year's Test tours of India and England, citing issues with scheduling and a lack of trust in local curators as contributing factors.

"se players have a different kind of mindset to what we h, whereas we probably needed more games," Vaughan continued.

"y're playing 12 months of year and get straight into it, but it'll be intriguing to see how both sets of players settle on that first day when y're playing longer form. modern player maybe believes that y don't need (tour matches). y think y get enough cricket throughout year and y can react and just apt. I just like to see teams win and stick a marker down," he ded.

Also Re | Australian Pacer Mitchell Johnson Opens Up On BATTLES With Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma to miss 1st Test

Days prior to first Test, India is likely to miss ir captain Rohit Sharma as he has decided to stay back in India and be available from 2nd Test given birth of his second child. 

Also Re | Rohit Sharma To Miss 1st India vs Australia Test of BGT, Bumrah To Le

In Rohit Sharma’s absence Jasprit Bumrah will captain team. Moreover, in a big blow, batter Shubman Gill is also expected to miss first Test after picking up an injury during training. 

(With PTI Inputs)