Australia to skip warm up match before India tour [Source: AFP]The start of 2027 is going to be exciting for cricket lovers as India and Australia will collide in a riveting 5-match series, taking place in India. The series holds utmost importance as the matches could decide the fate of both teams heading into the WTC 2025-27 finale.For the Aussies, India is their final frontier as the Kangaroos have not won a single Test series in India since the 2004 tour. The team will be eager to break that jinx, but surprisingly, even before the tour has commenced, the Australian head coach, Andrew McDonald, has dropped a bombshell.Australia not to play a single warm up fixture before India seriesIn a surprising turn of events, Australian head coach McDonald has revealed that the team will not play a single warm-up match before the all-important BGT begins against India.While the tour games against local teams have been announced for the South African and England tours, the Australian team is exploring venues for a pre-season camp to get its players used to the tricky Indian conditions.Australian head coach confirmed the development as he indicated that for some players, the preparations for the India tour will begin even before the home series concludes.New Zealand will tour Australia for a Test series, and McDonald reckons that players who are not a part of the home Tests, but considered for the India series, will turn their attention towards the India Tests by practising on scarified home pitches.McDonald reveals Australia's plan to conquer Indian conditionsSpeaking to cricket.com.au about the 2027 India tour preparations, McDonald said:"We feel as though we've got enough time to immerse ourselves in those conditions. We won't be taking on a practice game. It'll just be more around the location."We've got a couple of options there. We have gone to the UAE previously and we have also gone into India last time into Bangalore, so we're just working through what that would look like in terms of how we then manage the individuals.McDonald added that several players who can offer match-winning ability in Indian conditions might not be a part of the home Test series against New Zealand, and they’ll start the preparations early for the all-important India Tests.Also Read: Australia Head Coach Issues Josh Inglis Injury Update For 1st Test vs Bangladesh"A lot of that would happen on the back of the four Tests against New Zealand, seeing where players are at. We'll potentially have some different players with different skill sets that we believe can perform in India, so it won't necessarily be the squad that finishes the Test series (against NZ that then heads to India)."Not the first time Australia will skip warm up matches on India tourInterestingly, this is not the first time Australia will skip playing warm-up matches on India tours. The same instance occurred during their last visit in 2023, when the visitors planned not to play any practice games before the main matches kicked off.During Australia’s 2017 tour of India, the team was offered green surfaces for practice games, which didn’t mimic the spin-friendly wickets used in main matches.Hence, instead of playing any warm-up game, the Australians relied on a custom training camp in Alur, where the players got used to the Indian spinning conditions.Also Read: BCCI At Crossroads Over Rohit Sharma In India’s World Cup 2027 Squad
