Kolkata: India is set to embark on a pivotal phase in their cricketing calendar, marking a significant period not just as a return from a rare month-long hiatus from international duty, but also with the highly anticipated comeback of Rishabh Pant to red-ball cricket. This moment heralds a new beginning as India gears up for the concluding stretch of the World Test Championship points race. While Bangladesh and New Zealand may not pose substantial challenges on home turf, the looming five-match tour of Australia underscores the necessity for India to swiftly rediscover their Test cricket rhythm.

“It’s tough. Not easy when you haven’t played for eight months of Test cricket. But a lot of us have experienced this before,” remarked captain Rohit Sharma, two days ahead of India’s home season opener against Bangladesh in Chennai.

The training camp in Chennai has been instrumental. “We assembled here on the 12th and have had a good time spending hours on the field, getting everything together. Guys who have not played a lot of Test cricket went on to play the Duleep Trophy, which was good. So, in terms of preparation, I feel we are quite ready for this game and what lies ahead of us. So, it was a good little prep that we had before this Test match,” Sharma added.

India’s upcoming schedule is packed, featuring a two-Test series and a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, followed by hosting New Zealand for three Tests concluding in early November. Subsequently, the team will head to Australia for a grueling five-Test series over eight weeks. The stakes are immense, not only in retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also in maintaining a consistent winning trajectory to stay in contention for next year’s World Test Championship final.

Sharma emphasized the importance of each match, dismissing any notion of treating the home Tests as mere rehearsals for Australia. “Look, at the end of the day, you are playing for your country. So, there is no dress rehearsal kind of stuff happening here. Every game that we play is important, and every game becomes important because of what is at stake. The World Test Championship, still the table is quite wide open, and you want to win every game. So, it doesn’t matter where we play in two months’ time. We want to win here. We want to win this Test match,” Sharma asserted.

A key focus will be on how Rohit Sharma synergizes with Rahul Dravid’s successor, Gautam Gambhir, and the newly appointed support staff. Gambhir’s tenure had an unsteady start after Sri Lanka’s one-day triumph in Colombo. “The staff is new, but I know both Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar,” said Sharma.

“I have played quite a bit of cricket against (bowling coach) Morne Morkel; we’ve played some tough cricket against each other. I’ve also played, maybe a couple of games, against (assistant coach) Ryan (ten Doeschate), but the two of us had not spoken as much before. From what I experienced with him in Sri Lanka, I think he has a sensible and understanding personality, given the way he quickly started to understand things about the team,” Sharma noted.

“Sri Lanka was the first series, and now they are going to play their second series with the team. Everyone has their own style. Rahul (Dravid) bhai, Vikram Rathour and Paras Mhambrey, they had a different way of running the team; these guys will have a different style. So, it’s important for you to adjust. So far, there have been no problems or issues as a player. Like I said, if there is understanding, that’s the most important thing. And we have a good understanding.”

This cohesion will be crucial not only from a strategic standpoint but also in terms of workload management ahead of the Australia tour. Sharma hinted at plans to safeguard key bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, ensuring their endurance through the season if Mohammed Shami isn’t match-fit by then.

“We have laid out some plans on how we are going to manage these bowlers,” said Sharma. “But again, it all depends on the workload that has been carried by them in these games. So yeah, we will monitor that. I think we have done that pretty well. Even when we played against England (at home this year), we managed to get Bumrah one Test match off. We managed to give Siraj one Test match off.

“You want your best players to play all the games, but that’s not possible because there is so much cricket that happens. It is not only Test cricket; there is T20 cricket happening (against Bangladesh and South Africa) in the middle of the Test series as well. So, you have got to understand everything and then see what is best for the team and then manage your bowlers around it.”