Guwahati, Assam, is set to become the 30th venue in India to host a Test match when it stages the second Test between India and South Africa from November 22 to 26. The BCCI announced the schedule for the 2025-26 home international season on Wednesday, which includes home series against the West Indies and South Africa as part of India’s World Test Championship commitments. The season will kick off with India facing West Indies in a two-Test series, with matches scheduled in Ahmedabad from October 2 to 6 and in Kolkata from October 10 to 14.

Following the series against West Indies, India will host South Africa for two Tests, starting in Delhi from November 14 to 18, followed by the historic Test match in Guwahati. After the Tests, the two teams will compete in three ODIs, set to take place in Ranchi (November 30), Raipur (December 3), and Visakhapatnam (December 6).

Also Read: https://www.cricketwinner.com/cricket-news/india-to-face-india-a-in-closed-door-warm-up-match-ahead-of-england-test-series/

The series will conclude with five T20Is, which will be played in Cuttack (December 9), Mullanpur (December 11), Dharamsala (December 14), Lucknow (December 17), and Ahmedabad (December 19). All ODIs will be day-night encounters starting at 1:30 PM IST, while the T20Is will be night matches beginning at 7 PM IST. In addition to these two men’s bilateral series, India will also host the Women’s ODI World Cup during this home season, further adding to an exciting cricketing calendar.

India Cricket team to play closed-door warm-up match against India A before England series

India will begin their England tour with a closed-door warm-up match against India A on June 13 at Beckenham. India A will also play two four-day matches against England Lions before the five-Test series. Indian players will get a two-week break after IPL 2025 before traveling to England in mid-June for preparations.

The England Test squad is expected to be announced in May, during the peak of IPL 2025. A key discussion will be whether Rohit Sharma continues as captain, with his IPL performance playing a crucial role in the selectors' decision. Beckenham, a well-equipped ground in southeastern London, will be used for practice sessions ahead of the series.

The Indian cricket team will begin its England tour with a warm-up match against India A. The match will be played on June 13 at Beckenham, which is a ground under Kent County Cricket Club. There were intentions to telecast the match, but the decision was reversed, and it will now be played behind closed doors.

Practice Matches Before the Test Series

Before the five-match Test series, India A will also tour England and will have two four-day matches against England Lions. The first of these will be between May 30 and June 2 at Canterbury, and the second from June 6 to 9 at Northamptonshire Cricket County Club.

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Indian Cricket Team Travel plans and Preparations

After IPL 2025 is over, Indian players will get two weeks of rest and then go to England during the second week of June. There may be a few players going earlier based on their time table. Beckenham ground, located in southeastern London, is good and being used for practice before the Test series.

Issues related to selection and captaincy

The England series squad is expected to be announced in May, when the IPL will be at its peak. A part of the controversy is whether Rohit Sharma will continue to be the captain, subject mostly to how he performs during the IPL to assist the selectors in making their decision.

England vs India Test Series Schedule

This will be India's only practice game before the first Test at Headingley. As there are no practice games against local county teams, the intra-squad match will become the only preparation for the team.

Karun Nair may be returning to the India A team for the tour to England since he was last part of the Indian set-up in 2018. Coming back to the fold would represent a remarkable step for him considering he has not played international cricket since 2018.

The 33-year old sprinter is remembered for the phenomenal 303 not out he scored against England during a Test in Channai in 2016. During the 2023-24 season Nair scored more than 600 runs achieving multiple 100’s that highlighted his form while competing in the Ranji Trophy and cemented his claim for a return into the Indian setup.

While hoping to secure a spot in the Indian National Team the England tour will also test his technique and discipline. In addition, considering the current state of the Indian team his performance could help him earn a spot in the senior team and would be very favorable for him.

🚨 KARUN NAIR FOR ENGLAND TOUR 🚨

- Karun Nair likely to be included in the India A team for the England tour. [PTI] pic.twitter.com/9ryPIwnj1f

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 27, 2025

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There is hope from fans that this tour will help Nair resurrect his career which has seen him go through troubled waters of competition, consistency and emerging victorious with a triple century. Nair makes for a compelling story especially with a strong performance in England coupled with Indias packed Test calendar along with many young players looking to solidify their claim. 

A tour of Nair is an awesome avenue for him to exhibit his worth to add a supplementary chapter to his inspiring cricketing. The devoted crowd will not leave any stone unturned, as they will be eyeing not only his performance but also will be eager to know if he is creating an argument in favor of him being back to the national squad.

India A to Play Matches Against England Lions Prior to Test Series

India A will play two four-day matches against England Lions prior to India's Test series in England. These match-ups will acclimatize Indian players to English conditions prior to the main series.

Match Schedule
The first game will be played at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in Canterbury on Friday, May 30. The second game will start a week later, on June 6, at the County Ground in Northampton.

🇮🇳🏟️ We're excited to announce that England Lions will face India A in a four-day match this May at @Spitfire_Ground!

📖 FULL STORY: https://t.co/RbnMjIjtOb

🎟️ Tickets are on sale now: https://t.co/piHr9R17DJ pic.twitter.com/D3RItrzNwo

— Kent Cricket (@KentCricket) March 25, 2025

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Purpose of the Matches
The primary purpose of these games is to acclimatize Indian players to the conditions of playing in England. The weather and pitches in England are quite distinct from India. Through these matches, the players will receive much-needed practice ahead of the Test series.Significance for Indian Players
Most Indian cricketers feature in shorter formats such as T20 and One Day Internationals (ODIs). Since Test matches take a long time, they require different kinds of skills. These practice matches will get Indian players to improve their technique and adapt to playing with the red ball in England.

England Lions - Stiff Competition
England Lions team is made up of young talented players who aim to prove themselves for the national side. They will pose a tough challenge and real match exposure for India A before the actual Test series.

Indian Team have won the Champions Trophy silverware on 9th of March. Gambhir had a tactical team of all rounders which landed on Dubai avoiding Pakistan due to security reasons whom were the host. India played their league matches in Dubai where they played against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand outplaying their opponents. India traided with spin all rounders which helped them a lot. 

Earlier Gautam Gambhir selection were scrutinised under the radar favoring his favorite club. His partnership with Rohit Sharma was also as valuable it depicted, soon it was all value for worth. Though World Cup loss in 2023 were always been running and the recent series loses where quite on backdrop which tempted whether this team can outplay the other team. 

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India On Their Second Triumph

India had a tremendous champions Trophy campaign where they started the tournament by beating Bangladesh by 6 wickets, it was an intense match against the arch-rival Pakistan where Kohli's century decimated the chase and next came the black caps where Chakravarthy magic made them stunned and India's won their league matches with six points. The next game was with Australia but Gambhir and Co followed the same pattern. 

Australia too had a great matchup led by Smith, it was a definite match for India to give a strong reply to the World Cup loss. It was Travis Head with the proceeding but couldn't last long against Chakravarthy. Though Australia put upon the competitive total where India chased it beautifully but were under pressure. It was the semi-final between the finals of last year's T20 World Cup. Here too India had the upper hand and reached the final to face New Zealand. Both teams had an epic clash where India regained the victory on their second attempt and won the trophy for 3rd time. 

Read more: I Still Need 4-5 ICC Trophies For India After The Champions Trophy Win.

Gambhir Reaches England

After the successful Champions Trophy, India's next target would be the England series played in England. In between there is a schedule of IPL where players would be under the franchise scheme of things and Gambhir would have two months off though he is spending the time with India A team and it reported that he would be travelling with them to England to access the conditions and planning the things. India is set to travel to England to play the 5-match test series which starts from 20 June to August 5.

Ahead of this main tour. India A team will be touring England for three four-day matches in England against their local team. Many test-playing members will be there in those matches which would be easy to access the situation.  It's been noted that coach Gautam will be travelling with the team. It has been staked that earlier no head coach had travelled like that, In these tours BCCI sends some of the known faces or the coaches who train young talents. Though Gambhir had volunteered himself seeking permission with BCCI to monitor the ongoing proceedings of the team. It would be helpful for him to evaluate the players from Team A who possess the talent to play for India. 

India's new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is concerned with laying down a strong road map for Team India in all formats right through to the 2027 World Cup. His vision strategy is to develop the team, promoting consistency and depth within the squad.

Gambhir is part of this plan as he will accompany India 'A' to England. This is evidence of his desire to keep close tabs on future stars and provide a smooth in-take process for young players to the top team. With this approach, he hopes to establish a foundation that will serve Indian cricket in the future.

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🚨 ROADMAP OF ALL FORMATS FOR TEAM INDIA 🚨

- Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has been working on a Roadmap across formats till the 2027 World Cup. That's why Gautam to travel with India 'A' to England. (TOI). pic.twitter.com/6Y3hHZPwJa

— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) March 12, 2025

The plan is set to concentrate on:

• Selection of influential players for every format.
• Rotating the seniors to balance workload.
• Developing young players for future battles.
• Building India's bench strength in all formats.

With this long-term plan, Gambhir wants to build a team that stays competitive in all formats and reaches its best at the 2027 World Cup.

The ongoing three-match unofficial Test series between India A and Australia A has been riddled with heightened ball tampering accusations. Its been so far a difficult tour for the visitors as India A had to cope with a lot of blame and criticism from the fans and the officials for their alleged involvement in ball tampering in the first unofficial Test at Mackay.

The Indian side were visibly upset after seeing the umpires change the ball against their wishes. Ishan Kishan came under the scanner for his heated exchange with the umpire Shawn Craig and called his decision to change the ball "stupid". In response, Craig replied by cautioning the wicket-keeper batter that he would be on the report the following day for his offensive remarks. 

Fortunately, Ishan Kishan was spared by Cricket Australia and the match officials for that match and no sanction was applied on him. However, this move was later criticized by former Aussie opener David Warner questioned the umpire's decision to change the ball. 

So what's all the fuss again with the ball?

In the second unofficial Test, India A players were once again caught in the eye of a storm for a rather less offensive ball-related incident in Melbourne. In this recent video, players could be seen having a chat with the umpires about a particular substance that was found on the ball. As per the commentators on air at that time, the substance that could have been on the ball may have been mud or some sort of an artificial substance like white paint. 

pic.twitter.com/kVMQYjAC0K

— A (@cricketvf) November 8, 2024

Nevertheless, the exchange was by no means a welcoming one as India A pacer Prasidh Krishna was seen visibly disturbed when he was asked to remove the mud under the supervision of the umpire. 

Where does the match stand?

Australia A bowlers have once again managed to get the better of the India A batters in the second Test. Australia A managed to secure a valuable 62-run lead, courtesy of a fighting 74 from the opener Marcus Harris. Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran failed to deliver with the bat yet again as India A were reduced to 73/5 at the end of day two's play in the second four-day game against Australia A on Friday.  

See also: Former Australian wicketkeeper accused India A of ball tampering

Indian cricketer KL Rahul is fighting to earn his spot in the Indian Test playing XI. However, the right-handed batter stunned everyone with his bizarre dismissal during the unofficial Test match against Australia A.

India A are playing against Australia A in the last game of the two-match unofficial Test series. India A started their second innings of the second game at MCG by trailing 62 runs, and KL Rahul opened with Abhimanyu Easwaran. Both the players are fighting for the opening spot for the five-match Test series opener against the hosts Australia, as captain Rohit Sharma is doubtful for the first Test. 

While Easwaran scored a duck in the first innings, Rahul only managed to score four runs in that innings. 

Once again, Easwaran failed to impress, as he was out for 17 runs during India A’s second innings. Meanwhile, KL Rahul was trying hard to stay in the crease while he didn’t get a solid partner at the other end.

What was KL Rahul thinking?

While India A were struggling at 44/3, Rahul had a bafflement. Facing the off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, Rahul took the delivery casually, which was going towards the leg side. However, the ball hit the top of his left pad, changed the direction, and took off the off-stump bail.

"Don't know what he was thinking!"

Oops... that's an astonishing leave by KL Rahul 😱 #AUSAvINDA pic.twitter.com/e4uDPH1dzz

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 8, 2024

It was completely a poor and baffling dismissal. Even the commentators were asking what Rahul was thinking there. The right-handed batter was dismissed for 10 runs off 44 balls as India A were struggling at 44/4. 

Dhruv Jurel, who scored the fighting 80-run knock in the first innings to help India A score 161 runs, is battling once again in the second innings as he was not out for 19 runs at the stumps of the day where India A were struggling at 73/5 with a lead of 11 runs.

Rahul and Easwaran both disappointed

After scoring 0 and 12 during the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand, it was Rahul’s first game where he was dismissed for four and 10 runs. As the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran also failed in his four innings for India A in the ongoing Australia tour, where he scored 7, 12, 0, and 17, team India will struggle to choose the opening partner of Yashsavi Jaiswal for the first Test, where the captain’s presence is doubtful. 

Australia A’s Michael Neser put on an impressive performance against India A in the second unofficial Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, only to be struck by injury midway through his fiery spell. The seamer made an instant impact with the ball, reducing India A to a precarious 4-0 within the first three overs of the day. His exceptional opening spell was capped by a sensational double-wicket maiden, taking the wickets of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan in quick succession. Following that, Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed cheaply, leaving India A in deep trouble early in their innings.

Neser’s brilliant spell derailed by injury

However, in the midst of his remarkable performance, disaster struck. After sending down just 12 deliveries in his 13th over, Neser felt discomfort in his left hamstring. Cricket Australia confirmed that he would not take any further part in the game. The injury cut short a blistering performance that had put India A on the backfoot, leaving Australia A in a strong position.

Can Neser recover in time for Border-Gavaskar trophy?

Despite the early injury, there remains hope for Neser’s participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It is highly unlikely that he will feature in the series opener in Perth, as the gap between the first and second Tests is just 10 days. However, this short recovery window could allow Neser to recover and be available for the remainder of the series. Furthermore, his inclusion could help manage the workload of Australia’s key pacers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

This is not the first time Neser has struggled with injury. A similar issue occurred during his last Sheffield Shield appearance, leading to his absence from a One-Day Cup match soon after. At the time, he attributed the discomfort to running on an outfield made harder by extra sand due to the Australian Football season. His claims were supported by fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc and Sean Abbott, both of whom have faced similar issues with cramps and heavy legs.

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Despite the injury setback, Australia A finished Day 1 on top, dismissing India A for just 161 runs. The early breakthroughs from Neser, though cut short, were pivotal in the collapse of India A's top order. In response, Australia A had some early setbacks with the dismissals of Nathan McSweeney and Cameron Bancroft, but they were still in a strong position, ending the day 108 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.

While Michael Neser’s injury is a blow to Australia A's progress in the second unofficial Test, the team remains hopeful that he will recover in time for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His superb performance against India A showcased his potential to be a key player in Australia’s fast-bowling attack. With a 10-day gap before the second Test, there’s a possibility that Neser could return, ensuring his place in the squad to help Australia compete at the highest level. In the meantime, Australia A will look to capitalize on their strong position and complete a dominant performance against India A.

Indian cricketers KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel have been added to the India A squad ahead of the second unofficial Test against the hosts Australia A.

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the Australia A vs India A second unofficial Test match, starting on Thursday (November 7). KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, the senior Indian squad members for the upcoming Australia tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, were sent earlier than the other members to get proper match practice.  

Australia A won the first unofficial Test against India A by seven wickets. While India A were all out for only 107 runs in the first innings of the match, they fought bravely in their second innings. Sai Sudharsan (103) and Devdutt Padikkal (88) performed well in the second innings but India A were all out for 312 runs as they set up a fourth innings target of 225 runs. 

SEE ALSO: Virat Kohli slips lowest Test batting rankings in last 10 years

Rahul and Easwaran have the chance to earn an opportunity  

As Rahul and Jurel have officially joined the India A team, both are expected to play the second unofficial Test against Australia A. Rahul is expected to open for India A along with the vice-captain uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran. Both are in the senior Indian full-member Test squad. 

As captain Rohit Sharma is doubtful for the five-match Test series opener against the hosts Australia, Rahul and Easwaran both have great opportunities to perform well and earn the other spot of Yashasvi Jaiswal's opening partner. As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 will be a five-match Test series, starting on November 22, they can get more opportunities. 

Prasidh Krishna already replaced Yash Dayal

Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna was earlier added to the India A squad as a replacement for Yash Dayal. Dayal is in the Indian T20I squad that will play a four-match T20I series against the hosts South Africa, starting on November 8. On the other hand, Prasidh Krishna has already been selected in the full-member Indian squad for the upcoming Test series against the hosts Australia. 

India A updated squad for the Australia tour

Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Abishek Porel (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk).