Australia will not play any practice matches before next year's five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, with head coach Andrew McDonald confirming the team will instead hold a specialised training camp to prepare for subcontinent conditions.
The highly anticipated Test series begins on January 21, 2027, in Nagpur.
McDonald said Australia believes spending more time training in conditions similar to those in India will be more beneficial than playing warm-up matches.
The team is considering holding its preparatory camp either in the UAE or India, similar to previous tours, with a final decision yet to be made.
Australia had trained in Alur near Bengaluru ahead of its 2023 tour of India and is now looking for a venue that closely replicates the conditions expected during the series.
While there will be no practice games before the India tour, Australia will continue playing tour matches against local teams during upcoming series in South Africa and England.
McDonald also revealed that players likely to feature in the India series but not involved in the preceding New Zealand Tests may skip parts of the Big Bash League to focus on specialised preparation.
Players reportedly in contention for the India tour include Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy, Cooper Connolly, Peter Handscomb, and Matthew Renshaw.
Australia has not won a Test series in India since the 2004-05 season, making the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy another major challenge for the visitors.
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