Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has advised the youngsters who will be touring Australia for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy to play against the quick bowlers as much as possible in practice. He cheekily cautioned them against facing the speedster Jasprit Bumrah too much in the nets due to his exceptional skill level.

Speaking to the Indian Express after India’s surprising home series defeat to New Zealand, Gavaskar said, “Just believe in yourself. Practice as much as you can. I think there is some merit in facing throwdowns. But it is more important to play regular bowling. Face the quicker bowlers. Not (Jasprit) Bumrah, of course, because Bumrah can kill you. But you can ask others to bowl from 20 yards instead of 22 yards. So therefore, the ball comes on to the bat quickly. And you will get used to it. That is what I would say to the batsmen. In five-day games you have to be patient and you will score runs. Australian pitches are the best pitches to bat on after the new ball is done. And nowadays, the new ball is only swinging and moving for 10-12 overs.”

However, Team India was initially slated to play a three-day match from November 15 to 17 before the first Test in Perth on November 22.
However, recent reports suggested that the team has instead decided on training and net sessions at the WACA in Perth as well.

“I really do believe that they should have a warm-up game. In the gaps between Test matches, they really should have warm-up games. Not necessarily for the senior players. But for the junior players who have never played in Australia before,” concluded Sunil Gavaskar. “For the Yashasvi Jaiswals, the Sarfaraz Khans, the Dhruv Jurels, all these young batters. Even against an Australia A team or a state side like Queensland. Juniors must be given the opportunity to get used to the bounce and pitches in Australia.”