'Few batters had a forgettable South Africa series' - Sunil Gavaskar questions India's preparation for England Tests

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar shared his perspective on the choice of some Indian batters participating in the T20I series against Afghanistan instead of featuring in the Ranji Trophy. He expressed the view that opting for the domestic first-class tournament would have been a more prudent decision for players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill, especially considering the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting on January 25.

Gavaskar highlighted the significance of the Ranji Trophy for honing skills and finding form and emphasised that several batters struggled in the previous Test series against South Africa. With the Afghanistan series serving as the final international assignment before the 2024 T20 World Cup, coupled with injuries to key white-ball players, he believes that the Ranji Trophy could have provided the necessary platform for the batters to tune up their game ahead of the crucial England Tests.

"Would it have been better for some Indian batters to have played a couple of Ranji Trophy games to tune themselves for the Test series against England? Apart from KL Rahul, who scored one of the finest Test centuries seen in the first Test match in Centurion, and Virat Kohli, who batted well without quite getting to a century, the other Indian batters had a forgettable four innings in South Africa. We will, of course, see in the coming weeks whether they should have played the T20 internationals against Afghanistan or a Ranji Trophy game," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Team India to regroup in Hyderabad for Test series against England

India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, has confirmed that the squad will kick off their preparations for the pivotal Test series against England with a training camp from January 20 in Hyderabad. The announcement came after India secured a thrilling clean sweep in their T20I series against Afghanistan as they triumphed in a sensational Double Super Over showdown in Bengaluru on January 17.

For the Test regulars who featured in the T20I series, which included captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan, a brief two-day break awaits before they regroup for the camp in Hyderabad. With an eye on the upcoming home Test series against England, these players are crucial in India's bid to improve their standing in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, having faced challenges at the beginning of the competition.