Three net bowlers, camp in Wellington: India spells out Test preparations

Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak (PTI Photo) HAMILTON: The Indian cricket team is ramping up preparations for the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand. The players in the squad will travel to Wellington from Hamilton and will be assisted by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowler Morne Morkel. The players in the India A squad in Christchurch will join the group in Wellington.Kotak revealed on Monday that the team management is also considering keeping Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi back for the Test camp and head coach Gautam Gambhir will take the final call soon. The head coach himself will remain with the ODI team.“Gautam will have to be here, the One Day World Cup is coming up, so he will stay here and Sairaj (Bahutule) will probably stay here. Me, Morne (Morkel) and some other staff will go to Wellington, that’s the plan. Gautam will finish it, so it can change. We’ll just try to get them (the Test squad, their conditions) as much as their fitness allows. (Arshdeep Singh), (Auqib) Nabi and Gurnoor (Brar) if I am not mistaken, they will stay back for tests,” Kotak said on Monday.India played the first two ODIs in tough conditions and Kotak felt that while the color of the ball will change, the experience will hold the Test-bound players in good stead for the two-match series. Both the Auckland and Wellington matches were low-scoring and the batsmen from both teams found life difficult in conditions that were stitched and swinging and offered the bowlers an encouraging bounce. With a short turnaround time between the ODIs and the Test series, the Indian camp will be hoping that the session in Wellington will keep the team ready for the Basin Reserve opener.

Shubman Gill during the net session before the ODI series against New Zealand. (Photo: Sahil Malhotra/TimesofIndia.com)

Apart from that, players like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan were in the India A team and got some crucial playing time.“The wicket in both ODIs had swing and when it stopped after 4-6 overs there was movement of the seam and also a bit of a nasty bounce. So in hindsight it’s a good thing because the same thing can happen in a Test match… only the ball will be red. Yes, the intention and mindset will be One Day in One Day but one thing is mm, 12 wickets, grass and conditions, you can get an idea. Even though there’s more green on the Test pitch, on this the course is not very green, but it is quite good.“Also, there are a lot of India A matches played by red-ball players. So that’s also a big advantage for the batsmen and bowlers because they would know where to aim, what length to aim for, how hard to hit, how much to drop and what kind of help to expect.“So, overall, the preparation was very good, and in addition, the Test players go to the camp on the 11th, so we will also get 5-6 sessions. Fingers crossed, we should be ready for the Test series as well,” explained Koták.After completing their ODI commitments, Shubman Gill and other members of the Test squad will head to Wellington, while the rest of the squad will head to Tauranga for the final two matches, with Shreyas Iyer leading the side.