Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid’s ‘shadow tours’ were started when he was the head of NCA, which has benefited India and increased the strength of the bench strength.
Image Credit source: BCCI
Indian Cricket Team In the last 3-4 years, the competition for the place has increased more than before. India has the capability to field two teams at a time. There are many reasons for this strength and India A has played a big role in building this bench strength. Before any big series, India’s A team is also on a foreign tour or hosts some other team. However, at present they have been stopped for some time and now they will be started directly at the end of the year.
According to the PTI report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided that India A’s foreign tours will be stopped for some time. These series, which have been identified as shadow tours, will start again with the tour of South Africa in late 2023 and the reason for this short break is the ODI World Cup to be held in October-November, which is to be held in India.
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‘Shadow Tour’ after the World Cup
A BCCI source said on the condition of confidentiality, this year apart from the WTC (World Test Championship) final, the focus will be on ODIs till the World Cup. That’s why A team’s tour for red ball matches can happen only after November. India will tour South Africa in the next WTC in December-January. There is every possibility that India A’s shadow tour will be restored before this.
After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and before the ODI World Cup, the Indian team will play only three Tests, including a possible WTC final at The Oval and two Tests in the West Indies for the next WTC cycle in July-August. If the WTC final will be a single match, there is no need for a shadow tour and it will be played after the Indian Premier League.
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Dravid started
The idea of a shadow tour to build the bench strength of Team India started after current head coach Rahul Dravid became the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Shadow tours are those in which the India A team visits the same country that the senior Test team is to tour later. In December last year, the India A team toured Bangladesh after which the Test team had to play two matches.