Indian limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma said playing as many practice matches is the best way to put forward the first steps in preparation for an overseas tour. However, India played only one warm-up match against Essex before the first Test match at Edgbaston.
In fact, the Indian team schedule was so hectic on the South African tour that they didn’t play any practice game before the first Test match. Thus, the lack of preparation has certainly played a part in the fall down of the Indian team as they are trailing 0-2 in the ongoing series against England. Therefore, they are already catching up in the series.
India was ill prepared for the series.
“You have to prepare for the conditions and the best preparation you can have is by going to that particular country and playing as many matches and have as many practice sessions as possible,” Rohit Sharma said.
Rohit Sharma admitted the fact that team gets a little time to get themselves prepared. However, the flamboyant batsman said that the team should prepare according to given conditions they are going to encounter.
“It cannot happen because we get few days to prepare for a series. But whatever time you get, be it in Mumbai or Australia or England, you try and prepare to the conditions accordingly,” he added.
Furthermore, Rohit Sharma believes that it is difficult to make any changes in between the series. Therefore, it is better to make any significant change at the start of a series.
“It’s very tough to make changes in between. Whatever changes you do, you have to do it at the start. Trying to change a whole lot in the middle of the series, would not be a good idea. You can do minor changes, but you cannot do a whole lot,” he stated.
The stylish Indian opener said that every batsman has his strengths and weaknesses. However, as most of England bowlers rely on the swing, Indian batsmen should look to cover for that aspect.
“Every batsman in the squad knows their strengths and weaknesses. So what they can do is go back and try and strengthen that. The English bowlers are more of swing bowlers, so our batsmen can focus on that aspect of the game”.
India will look to bounce back in the third Test match which will kick off from today (18 August) at Trent Bridge.