Australia opts against practice game before India Test tour

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has revealed that his team will not play any practice match before its high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy away Test series against India next year, as a short preparatory camp in conditions similar to the sub-continent would be more useful.

The much-anticipated five-Test series is scheduled to start on January 21 in Nagpur.

"We feel as though we've got enough time to immerse ourselves in those conditions. We won't be taking on a practice game. It'll just be more around the location," McDonald said. 

"We've got a couple of options there. We have gone to the UAE previously and we have also gone into India last time into Bangalore, so we're just working through what that would look like in terms of how we then manage the individuals," he said. 

The Australians will, however, play tour games against local sides during upcoming assignments against South Africa and England.

The series against India would last for over a month with games spread across Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, and Ranchi before the finale in Ahmedabad.

During their 2023 tour of India, the Aussies had held a camp in Alur near Bengaluru to prepare for the series. "Ultimately, if you can have a dedicated venue that you're able to use and replicate as close to the conditions that you believe you may get in the first Test match or throughout a Test series, that's ideally what you want," he said.

"You case those locations - you want a connection in terms of conditions and climate. We believe we'll get that right in terms of where we go, it just hasn't been confirmed yet."

Australia has not won a Test series in India since the 2004-05 season.