India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was all praise for how their three-day warm-up game in Colombo ahead of their two-Test series against Sri Lanka, even stating that it was more “productive” than what practising in the nets for four more days would’ve done. India beat SLC XI by six wickets, chasing down a 207-run target in the final session of the day three.
Notably, all of their bowlers put in nearly 18-20 overs, apart from Auqib Nabi who got to bowl just five. Apart from Nabi and Prasidh, all the available players also got a chance to bat as well. In fact the match was won by Mohammed Siraj hitting a hat-trick of sixes.
“It was very good and productive,” Kotak told BCCI.TV. “Practicing in nets for four more days won’t be as productive as the practice match. Bowlers bowled with good intensity. We actually tried everyone, even bowlers, get to bat. All the bowlers got enough loading that is required. So, it’s been very good.”
The statement is a marked departure from what India have said for the past decade or so about practice matches, with the side increasingly preferring training camps and intra-squad matches on tours over playing warm-ups against local sides.
India had notably cancelled a scheduled warm-up match during their 2017 tour of South Africa. Then-India captain Virat Kohli, who has spoken in favour of high-intensity training sessions over warm-up matches in the subsequent years in which he led the team, said that the pitch that was to be used for the warm-up matches was going to be vastly different to what they would’ve encountered in the series.
“There’s no point wasting two days, guys going in, scoring quick fifties and coming out. We’d rather have them do two sessions like today, get into Test match zone, test ourselves, try and prepare the wickets the way we want to,” he had said.
It has to be noted, though, that India rarely get the kind of time ahead of tours as they currently have in Sri Lanka. The team arrived at the island nation on August 3 for a series that is to start only August 15. The first Test itself is separated from the first Test in Galle by four days.
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