Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar Explains Why Virat And Rohit Should’ve Played Warm-Up Games Before Australia Tests – News18

Last Updated:November 14, 2024, 01:24 IST

According to Sanjay Manjrekar, India “desperately needed warm-up games” to regain confidence following the humiliating defeat to New Zealand.

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would love to play a few warm-up games before featuring in the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian team has already jetted off to Australia for the five-match Test series. They were slated to play an intra-squad game against India A ahead of the series opener. The BCCI, however, cancelled the practice match to avoid last-minute injuries. Instead, Rohit and Co. have opted for a match simulation with India A in the centre wicket of the WACA in Perth.

Before the Australia tour, India were humbled by New Zealand in a Test series at home. The hosts’ batting unit appeared to be out of form in the three-match assignment. Even senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also failed to demonstrate their A-game, registering 91 and 93 runs respectively across six innings.

According to Sanjay Manjrekar, India “desperately needed warm-up games” to regain confidence following the humiliating defeat to New Zealand. This is perhaps the first time that India has not played a single practice match before starting a tour.

“The lack of a warm-up game might make a difference, especially this time because of the kind of form and confidence the team is going with to Australia. It has been a trend in recent times that there are less and less of warm-up games but on this particular tour, we saw that the India A batters struggle despite being in form in the Indian conditions. So yes, India desperately needed more warm-up games,” Manjrekar said during an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo.

Manjrekar further reckons India may find it challenging to bat on the grassy Australian pitches this time. The squad includes several youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Dhruv Jurel who have very little experience in playing in overseas conditions.

“India can counter with the fact that the team has performed better when they have been given fewer warm-up matches. In the 90s, we had many and yet lost 0-4 to Australia. I think Indian batters are getting used to conditions, but this time around, there are many young players,” Manjrekar said.

“Maybe the earlier team which had experience did not need it, but I think we needed some games here, and I think that Virat and Rohit would have loved to play warm-up games,” he added.

India have already kicked off their preparation for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first Test of the five-match series will begin on November 22 in Perth.