India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has called on the Test specialists of the country to go play in the Ranji Trophy for their state teams instead and not go to the much-discussed skill-based training at the Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru. The ex-opener is of the opinion that no amount of skill sessions makes up for time spent in the middle when it comes to the longest format.

For Gambhir, match practice always trumps net practice. Since India's T20 squad will finish its series against Australia in Brisbane on November 9 and the first Test against South Africa begins in Kolkata on November 14, Gambhir believes players should utilise that window.

‘No substitute for Match practice,’ says Gautam Gambhir

“Sometimes it is difficult, but that is what professionalism is all about,” Gambhir explained. “Players must use the available days to the best of their ability because we know there are very quick turnarounds — from one-day cricket to T20s, and then, after just four days, back to Test cricket.”

He emphasised that red-ball specialists should prioritise domestic cricket over extended training camps. “For those who are just part of Test cricket, preparing through domestic matches is very important. Rather than going to the NCA and working on their skills, playing competitive games is crucial for the team,” he added.

Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, Devdutt Padikkal, and Narayan Jagadeesan, all of whom are Test squad members but not going to Australia, will also be playing in a few rounds of the Ranji Trophy. Rishabh Pant is also on his way back from injury and expected to play for Delhi in the second round of the Ranji Trophy. Once the ODI series concludes, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, and KL Rahul are slated to join their respective domestic teams.

Gambhir pointed to players such as Rahul, Sudharsan, Jurel, and Padikkal, who all honed their skills playing for the India A team against Australia A prior to the West Indies series, and Rahul also played for the India A team against the England Lions.

“It is tough on players, especially those active across all formats,” Gambhir noted. “But the best part of the recent series was how the Test guys prepared — playing those India A games against Australia made a big difference.”

Reinforcing the same philosophy, Gambhir said it’s vital for players to follow this template and feature in Ranji Trophy matches as part of their build-up to the South Africa Tests. “Playing Ranji Trophy before the South Africa series is equally important. This group of players has prepared exceptionally well, and that’s why we’ve seen the kind of results we have,” he concluded.

(With PTI Inputs)