India to start preparation for England Tests on January 20
India are unbeaten so far in 2024. They won the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town before whitewashing Afghanistan in the three-match T20I series at home. Now, Rohit Sharma’s men are set to host England in what promises to be an intriguing five-match Test series.
The first Test is set to commence on Thursday, January 25, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. India’s head coach Rahul Dravid praised England for their recent performances in red-ball cricket and said that he was looking forward to the series.
“Really looking forward it, it’s going to be an interesting series. England is a good side, they have been playing some very good cricket off late. 5 matches is a lot of cricket over the next couple of months. It’s been a long time since any of us have played a 5-match Test series. It’s going to take a lot out of us,” Rahul Dravid said during an interaction with JioCinema.
Looking forward to getting back with the group on the 20th: Rahul Dravid
Besides, Rahul Dravid also mentioned that Rohit Sharma and Co. will begin their preparation for the series on Saturday, January 20 in Hyderabad. Members of the Test squad who featured in the Afghanistan series will get two days of rest before they join the camp. Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan will need to make the transition from the shortest format of the game to the longest in quick time.
“Looking forward to getting back with the group on the 20th, have a few days of lead-in preparation and hopefully play some good cricket over the next couple of months,” Dravid stated.
After the first Test of the series in Hyderabad, the next four matches will be played in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala. The 51-year-old hoped that fans would come in numbers in the five cities to support Test cricket. England have had an 11-day training camp in the UAE. Ben Stokes and Co. will look to repeat the heroics of Alastair Cook’s side that won the 2012 Test series against India.
