IND vs AUS: "I Don't Understand" - Michael Clarke Thinks The Choice Not To Play A Tour Game Is A Significant Issue

Michael Clarke, a former captain of Australia, has acknowledged that he was taken aback by the team’s choice to skip a tour game prior to the impending Border-Gavaskar trophy in India.

The four-match Test series will start on February 9 and the Australians will arrive in India by mid-week. They have very little time to get ready for the first Test in Nagpur as a result.

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The head coach of Australia Andrew McDonald has earlier justified the choice to skip the practice match in India. Clarke, though, sees things differently.

As per Fox Sports, the former skipper stated on the Big Sports Breakfast on Tuesday that skipping the practice match before the series could be a crucial decision given the subcontinent’s naturally variable surfaces.

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“That’s the part I don’t understand, The no-tour game before the first Test in India. I hope I’m proven wrong but I think that is going to be significant. Batting in those conditions in one-day cricket and T20 cricket is one thing, batting in Indian conditions in Test cricket is a completely different game” Michael Clarke said.

“You need a completely different plan than what you have playing in Australia, the way you start your innings against spin bowling, how you play reverse swing, we didn’t see much reverse swing during the Australian summer, the games were gone in two, three days” Michael Clarke stated on the Big Sports Breakfast on Tuesday.

“So reverse swing will play a significant part (in India), all these hitters walking out and playing bowlers bowling 130-140ks – there’s every potential India will play at least two spinners, so it’s a completely different game,” Michael Clarke Added.

“You need to bat in the best possible conditions”: Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke went on to suggest that the batters will need to spend time in the finest circumstances available in India or they will struggle.

“You need to bat in the best possible conditions (in India) because after that, if you haven’t grown up playing in those conditions, man it’s extremely difficult to start your innings,” Clarke said on Tuesday.

“And if you get in you need to go on and make a huge score because your first 20 runs in India in the second innings, whoa, a ball that you step forward to and block in Australia easy against spin, over there can roll over the ground, can bounce and take your glove,” Michael Clarke said.

“You may go outside and block it, and it bowls your leg stump; the natural variation over there is huge” Michael Clarke Added.

India will host Australia in the four-match Test series, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy set for February 9.

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