NEW DELHI: Stung by the massive defeats against New Zealand and Australia, the BCCI has decided to organise three four-day matches in the UK ahead of the Test matches against England to give the players an opportunity to get a feel of red-ball cricket.
The dates and venues of the matches against England Lions are yet to be fixed but they will take place in the UK after the IPL final on May 25, as the tour begins with the first Test at Leeds on June 20.
The board feels the preparatory series is essential to India’s chances against England after the team went down 0-3 against the Kiwis at home and 1-3 to the Aussies away.
“We had a similar ‘A’ tour to Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. These matches will help players to come to terms with English conditions and, also, a chance for them to play red-ball cricket after some time,” a source in the BCCI told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Some of the frontline Indian players such as Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal etc are preparing for the Ranji Trophy matches, which are re-starting from January 23.
