Quelling suggestions of Cold-War style secrecy, Border-Gavaskar Trophy holders went through their paces ahead of a three-day intra-squad hit-out

After several days of clandestine skirmishes, India’s mission to keep hold of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be launched in earnest tomorrow with the beginning of a three-day match simulation at the WACA Ground.

Since arriving in Perth in various iterations earlier this week, India’s 17-man Test squad (minus captain Rohit Sharma) and the similarly sized India A outfit that has already played two first-class matches in Australia have been getting acclimatised to local conditions.

That has included lengthy sessions in the WACA Ground nets, with today’s hit-out open to accredited cricket media which quelled suggestions of Cold War-style secrecy surrounding the tourists’ preparation.

It remains unclear whether similar scrutiny will be allowed when the three-day intrasquad ‘match’ kicks off tomorrow, but India’s unprecedented build-up for an Australia campaign underscores their commitment to retaining the Trophy they’ve held since 2017.

Australia deployed a similar tactic prior to their 2019 Ashes tour when two full squads battled it out at Southampton before the opening match, a principal difference being that intrasquad contest informed the subsequent selection of the Test touring party.

Another contrast to that exercise of five years ago under then coach Justin Langer will be the centre wicket conditions, with WACA ground staff today putting the finishing touches to what appears a textbook (if green-tinged) Perth surface.

The pitch produced by the host nation for Australia’s selection trial was an atypical English strip, sporting live grass but bone dry beneath which made strokeplay near impossible as 17 wickets fell on the first day.

The proposed four-day event barely made it to the third morning as Langer insisted on proper match playing conditions that ensured batters who failed were reduced to watching on from the sidelines.

India have already foreshadowed batters dismissed cheaply in their simulation will be allowed to continue their innings in order to maximise preparation, with opposing teams chosen with a focus on either batting or bowling.

That will likely prove especially useful for top-order Test batters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran (the latter a potential opening replacement for Rohit) who have not previously played first-class cricket on Perth’s fast, bouncy tracks.

Jaiswal – the Test and IPL batting sensation making his maiden visit to Australia and fellow opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain of the India A team) – received a crash course in WACA conditions during today’s nets session.

A member of the India coaching staff stood mid-pitch with tennis racquet in hand and hit firm volleys with a soft ball at the head and upper body of the duo who repeatedly rehearsed taking evasive action followed by a succession of pull shots over the leg side.

More experienced batters such as Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill (the latter pair part of India’s 2-1 series triumph on their previous visit in 2020-21) have been re-acquainting themselves with the vagaries of Australian surfaces, most notably leaving deliveries bouncing above the stumps.

Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, in line to lead India should Rohit’s absence extend into the opening Test starting next Friday, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep have likewise been fine-tuning the lengths they’ll aim to hit in conditions vastly different to their most recent home Tests against New Zealand.

It is understood India’s match simulation will be designed to ensure those top line bowlers plus spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja operate when first-choice batters are at the crease.

Today’s session saw a few adventurous India fans clamber on to low branches of the plane trees adjoining the WACA Ground that provide a vantage point for the practice nets, with some engaging in friendly chats with their heroes.

However, the crowd gathered in the WACA precinct was notably smaller than the groups of autograph hunters who have been stationed outside the team’s Perth hotel since the squad’s arrival.

In addition to today’s batting and bowling in the WACA Ground nets and fielding drills on the main arena, the visitors were engaged in the obligatory round of photos and vision ‘capture’ that form part of every host broadcasters’ coverage.

These included images of each squad member shot against the backdrop of a huge Indian flag that was suspended from a crane and billowed on the early afternoon Perth breeze.

NRMA Insurance Men’s Test Series v India

First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium, 1.20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed