Gurkeerat Singh Mann excited to lead against Australia

The Australian side has touched down in India and will play a practice game against a Board President XI tomorrow in Chennai. MSK Prasad handed the reins of the side to Gurkeerat Singh Mann and named young performers like Washington Sundar in the squad to take on the Steven Smith-led side.

Lack of time with the team doesn’t bother Gurkeerat

Gurkeerat, who made his international debut against Australia last year, is keen to take on the 5-time World Champions. The side is coached by Hemang Badani, who has played most of his cricket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the venue for the game. The squad assembled for training today and skipper Gurkeerat didn’t see any harm in not getting adequate time to gel as a team.

“I think everyone’s a professional cricketer here and you need to be ready all the time.

“All of us have been practicing, so I don’t think getting together one day before the game is an issue. We’re raring to go.”

Big performance can pave an India call: Badani

Badani, who has played 40 ODIs and 4 Tests for India, highlighted the importance of such games. He harked back to his own example when a century in a side game helped him to reclaim his position in the Indian middle order.

“Oh absolutely. I’ll go back to my own personal experience. I was out of the national side for a couple of years and when New Zealand toured India in 2003, I got a hundred against them in the side game, paving my way back into the ODI outfit.

“So, these guys do realize that come to these big matches, one big innings or a five-for gets them back into the reckoning. They have been working hard throughout the year, so it’s up to every individual now to grab this opportunity and take it forward.”

Badani didn’t want to induce a lot of changes ahead of the game. He stressed that all cricketers are professionals and know about their role in the side. The only thing the former left-hand batsman was looking to communicate about was the conditions at the Chidambaram Stadium.

“All of them are very professional and know what they have to do, and I don’t have enough time to spend with them, understand the players, their needs, requirements, and state of mind at this point in time.

“All I try and do is be a facilitator for this one session and try to keep them in a good mental space while also giving them some feedback about the weather and the conditions here,” he reasoned.

Gurkeerat sees the game as valuable practice ahead of Ranji season

Gurkeerat saw this game as a good practice for the domestic season and dismissed that different formats don’t matter due to the quality of the opposition.

“I think every game helps you regardless of the format, especially the ODIs. We’re going to play day matches in the Ranji Trophy, so it’s a very good preparation.

“When you play against such competitive teams, it is an added advantage before the season. If we do well here, we can carry forward the momentum into the domestic season,” he said, adding, “I don’t think it will affect preparations ahead of the domestic season. For me, personally, I’ve been playing inter-district tournaments to get ready and now I’ve a match to play here and, after that, a few more games in Punjab.”