India cancel intra-squad match to prioritise net practice ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy
New Delhi (PTI): India have decided to cancel a planned three-day intra-squad match with the 'A' side during the upcoming Test tour of Australia as the team management wants to focus on additional net practice to prepare for the marquee five-match showdown starting November 22 in Perth.
India were scheduled to begin their tour of Australia with a closed-door warm-up match against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A at the WACA in Perth from November 15 to 17. India A are currently in Australia for an unofficial Test series.
However, PTI has learnt that head coach Gautam Gambhir and some senior players want more time in the nets instead.
Rohit Sharma and his men will head to Australia after a shocking home series loss to New Zealand. Vying for a third straight Test series victory in Australia, the tourists will face added pressure, as a place in the World Test Championship final is also at stake.
It is understood that since the bounce of the WACA centre strip resembles that of the Perth Stadium track, all top order batters would prefer more time in the middle.
An intra squad match might not work in that scenario as if a batter gets out cheaply, then he might not immediately get a chance to bat again on the centre strip.
This marks a change from India's last two tours of Australia when the side played practice games ahead of the main series.
In the lead-up to the 2018-19 series, the 'Men in Blue' played a four-day match against Cricket Australia XI. For the 2020-21 tour, they started the red-ball leg with a three-day game against Australia A.
India A and the senior team played an intra-squad match in Johannesburg prior to the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Boxing Day last year.
Despite the match, the Indian batting came short in the Test. It's not known whether the outcome of this experiment influenced their decision-making for the Australia series.
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AAP activists detained during Mumbai protest against Raghav Chadha
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Mumbai (PTI): Police on Sunday detained some Aam Aadmi Party activists in Mumbai after they staged a demonstration against Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha, who has crossed over to the BJP, in Khar area.
Aam Aadmi Party's Mumbai unit president Preeti Sharma Menon claimed the police prevented AAP workers from protesting peacefully against "traitor" Chadha and detained local leader Ruben Mascharanhas.
A Khar Police official confirmed that Mascharanhas and some other activists have been taken to the police station, without elaborating.
"@CPMumbaiPolice @mumbaipolice has no other work but to guard Raghav Chaddha’s Mumbai residence. @aapmumbai volunteers were prevented from protesting peacefully against the GADDAR. Ruben has been detained at the Khar Police Station. But BJP is allowed to block roads at their whim," Menon stated.
The AAP's Mumbai unit had planned a protest in the Khar area against Chadha and six other Rajya Sabha MPs of the party who recently joined the BJP.
"Without any detention order or any written communication, I have been taken to the Khar Police Station. Why is @MumbaiPolice so scared of @AAPMumbai's peaceful protest against 'Gaddar' Raghav Chaddha and Sandeep Pathak? We are @ArvindKejriwal's soldiers, we are not going to be cowed down," Mascharanhas said in another post.
The AAP suffered a jolt on Friday when seven of its Rajya Sabha members, including Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, quit the party, with Chadha saying all of them have merged with the BJP, asserting that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
VIDEO | Mumbai: AAP workers protest outside Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s residence.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 26, 2026
On Friday, the AAP suffered a jolt when seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal quit and merged… pic.twitter.com/GWKCSvDrOJ
