Team India will go through a strict quarantine before being onboard to the flight to England ahead of the World Test Championship final. This can hamper the team’s chances of preparing well going into the marquee contest but the bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar believes players are experienced enough to counter the lack of preparations.
India are expected to undergo a 14-day quarantine before leaving for the UK in the first week of June. The final will commence from June 18 in Southampton followed by a five-match Test series against England starting in August.
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“I don’t think we have a choice,” Sridhar told PTI when asked how much time the team will need to ready for the big game.
“We would like to make the most of what we get because it all depends on how many days of hard or soft quarantine we are going to have when we are going to land and if at all getting a practice game so I don’t think we have a choice,” he added.
The team is scheduled to undergo another quarantine period upon arrival in England. Sridhar believes a slight under-prepared mindset can also bring the best out of the players.
“It’s time to be mentally smart, we have a very experienced team going into going to the final. Each guy is capable of adapting to the situation. They have played against New Zealand and played in England.
“So, I think that experience will count and we will have to come to the fore because we really can’t plan as to how many sessions we want because we only have to take what is given to us,” he said.
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Talking about the perks and cons of lack of preparations, he further added “Sometimes it can work in our favour as well because that way you’re mentally more ready. It’s like playing with an injury sometimes when you’re injured, you tend to concentrate a little better.
“Sometimes when you’re a little under-prepared, you tend to focus more and maybe that will bring the best out of us as well so that that is the kind of mindset we are going in with.”
Team India will go head-to-head against New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship 2021. The game was originally scheduled to take place at Lord’s but was shifted to Southampton keeping their hotel facility in mind.
