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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has planned to make warm-up matches compulsory for the India National Cricket Team during SENA tours. Former India opener Aakash Chopra has supported BCCI’s latest plan for SENA tours. This is done to get better preparation for tough conditions in the SENA countries, as the Men in Blue have struggled in recent times.
The Men in Blue are winless in their last two Test series played in the SENA countries. They drew against England, and ahead of that, during the chaotic Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they lost the series 4-1 against Australia in Australia. Next up, they will play against New Zealand in a two-match series, which will also be challenging for the team.
Aakash Chopra backs BCCI decision to host warm-up matches
Aakash Chopra, while speaking on his YouTube channel, has backed BCCI’s decision to make warm-up games mandatory, but he has pointed out that the warm-up matches and the opposition should also be competitive, and the game must be of good quality so that both team players who will be part of the main squad get good time to assess themselves.
"If you are going to SENA countries, there will be mandatory warm-up games. There was an era when the England tour used to last the entire summer. It was a four-month tour where you played seven matches against county teams," Chopra said.
"Theoretically, it isn’t wrong, but I don’t know how to maintain the quality of those games. I don’t have the answer for that at the moment because, at the time I am talking about, the teams used to be good and they used to almost beat us," Chopra said.
Aakash Chopra finds problems with hosting warm-up matches
Aakash Chopra also pointed out that if the opponents and the Men in Blue side play their second team, stating that there is no relevance for this match is one of the key points to be noted that has to be resolved, as he believes that the quality of the match and the players should be maintained for better preparations for the tour.
"Now they play their second-team players, saying the match has no significance. So that one thing is still missing. The quality will have to be maintained a little," Chopra added.
The former India player welcomed it as a positive development, noting that warm-up games would give greater preparation for a series than A-team matches.
India manages Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya's workload
Aakash Chopra, while speaking in the same video, spoke about the recent injury problems and workload management of the Men in Blue. He pointed out how Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah will be managed as they are still recovering from their respective injuries. Bumrah is in the squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, and Pandya has been managed for the ODI World Cup 2027.
"The players’ workload will remain under focus because there is IPL along with international cricket and if you see, Hardik Pandya has not played for a long time and Jasprit Bumrah has also missed a lot of cricket," Chopra said.
