Australia stars set to enjoy Sheffield Shield window before India series

Australia is all set to begin its preparation for the Border Gavaskar Series in 2024. The side has potentially been handed their best preparation ahead of the marquee series, with players having up to four Sheffield Shield matches to fine-tune for the Test series against India.

Cricket Australia recently came forward to announce the schedule for the domestic summer on July 25. The schedule had the new women's T20 competition before the WBBL, with the Sheffield Shield and the men’s one-day cups sitting at seven matches each. 

However, one different thing about the schedule has been that after a long time, the multi-format players will have a long stretch of Shield games to prepare to win back the Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

It is worth noting that Australia’s last overseas series of 2024 will conclude on September 29 in England. The same will give the players almost a week before the start of the Sheffield Shield on October 8. Each state in the tournament will at least play three fixtures before players start their preparations for the first Test against India, starting on November 22.

Interestingly, skipper Pat Cummins will be missing the entire series against England in September, whereas Mitchell Starc will only feature in the ODI matches against their arch-rivals. Furthermore, another topic of discussion could be the availability of multi-format players for the Sheffield Shield.

Several players’ availability for the Shield could be impacted by the limited-overs visit of Pakistan with the ODI series starting on November 4, and with Australia’s Test team looking set, the side will hope to take a reserve batter into the Border Gavaskar series. 

The much-awaited series against India will kick off on November 22, and the Aussies will aim to be at the top of their game if they are looking to win the series. With the domestic schedule revealed, the board will have a better idea of the preparation at hand.