‘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 the first Test of the highly awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy starting from November 22nd. The first Test of the 5-match series will take place at Optus Stadium in Perth and India enter into the contest as underdogs given their poor display in a 3-0 home Test series loss to New Zealand.  

Ahead of the opening clash, Team India decided not to play any warmup matches and the intra squad 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 head into the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia without a proper warm-up game, former England captain Michael Vaughan has raised concerns about how the tourists would get into a "competitive mindset" without match practice.

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

"I can't get my head around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squad game leading into a series against Australia in their 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-squad game. Time will tell." But India have also called off their scheduled three-day intra-squad match with their 'A' team. They have instead opted to focus on centre-wicket training at the WACA in Perth.

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

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

Australia had 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.

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

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

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

Rohit Sharma to miss 1st Test

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

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

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

(With PTI Inputs)