India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar refused to talk about India captain Rohit Sharma’s batting position in the second BGT 2024 Test that will be played in Adelaide from December 6 onwards.
Ahead of that, India will play Australia Prime Minister's XI in a two-day tour match at the Manuka Oval in Canberra starting on Saturday. This match will give the visitors practice with the pink ball under lights, as the second Test in Adelaide will be a pink ball, day/night Test.
India have now played four day-night Test matches, and their solitary defeat was four years ago in Adelaide when they were bowled out for 36 before winning the Test series.
The Team India think tank will have to adjust the batting order for the encounter on December 6 due to the arrival of Rohit Sharma, who missed the first Test due to the birth of his second kid, and the expected return of a fit Shubman Gill.
The designated openers are Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal, but given how brilliantly the latter and KL Rahul performed at the top in Perth, there is a case for the Indian skipper to go down the order.
Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar spoke with reporters following a practice session in Canberra but did not reveal the Indian captain's batting position.
“Not yet. I think it is too early for us to think about that, we're just going to try and take this game and see how it goes and then maybe come up with plans once we reach Adelaide,” Abhishek Nayar said when asked about Rohit's batting spot.
Nayar also spoke about Shubman Gill playing in the Adelaide Test, as he returned to nets as he seemingly has recovered from his thumb injury.
Talking about Gill's return, Nayar said, "His evaluation will be done by the physio. He looked quite comfortable while batting, at the moment he is batting indoors and the assessment of whether he'll play tomorrow or not, will be done later."
The pink ball outperforms the red cherry, especially during the twilight hours. Because this is not a high-level game, the majority of Indian batters prefer to feel the ball in the middle.
Talking about the pink ball, Nayar said, "The main thing is the adaptation of the color and the extra lacquer on the pink ball, so we would like to get acclimatize with it in the next few days. The difference mainly is only about the mindset. We had practiced with the pink ball in Perth too."
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had to fly back to India for personal reasons and he will miss the practice game India plays in Canberra.
"Gauti bhai should be here soon. I am not sure about the date yet. I am pretty sure that he'll be there in Adelaide once we get there,” Nayar added.
India would prefer to spend more time with the bat than with the ball because the contest is only two days long. Players who are unlikely to be considered unless they are injured, such as Sarfaraz Khan, would also like to see some action.
India has been unwilling to participate in tour games due to a lack of competitiveness.
(ANI inputs)
