Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine doesn’t think the lack of practice with the red ball ahead of the India Test series would be an issue for Australian stars who are currently playing in the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in the UAE.
Steve Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and James Pattinson are among the Australians stars currently playing for different teams in the ongoing IPL 2020 – which will be concluded on November 10 in the UAE.
While the opening four-rounds of Australia’s first-class domestic competition Sheffield Shield will start this weekend with the final game of the round starting on 17th November.
However, Tasmania skipper Paine doesn’t think Australia’s IPL players will get enough time to participate in the Sheffield Shield cricket ahead of the India series with a mandatory 14-day quarantine rule in place for international arrivals in Australia to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Read Also: India-Australia Test series set to kickstart on December 17 in Adelaide: Report
Paine told reporters in Hobart on Tuesday (6 October): “I wouldn’t have thought so, with restrictions coming back into the country.”
Given that, Australia’s top star would directly play Test series against India without having any red-ball game, but Paine isn’t worried that a transition from white-ball to red-ball cricket would be an issue for the country’s IPL 2020-bound players later this year.
He further added, “These are guys that have transferred from white-ball to red-ball, from Test cricket to Twenty20 cricket, within a matter of days. It's never been an issue and we wouldn't expect it to be.”
Noteworthy, Australia had planned a one-off test against Afghanistan in Perth in November before the India series, but it was postponed last month. Australia and India Test series will start on 3rd December.
(With PTI Inputs)
