Team India gears up for England Test series: Intra-squad match scheduled for today; spotlight on Kuldeep and Jadeja

Team India begins final preparations for England Test series; 4-day intra-squad match from today

Ahead of the five-match Test series against England starting June 20, Team India has begun its final phase of preparations. Starting today, the senior Indian team will face off against India A in a four-day intra-squad match at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham. The match begins at 3 PM IST, but it will not be broadcast live.

This intra-squad match follows India A’s recent unofficial two-match Test series against England Lions, both of which ended in draws. For today's match, 7 players from the senior squad have been included in the India A team. These include captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Shardul Thakur, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

This match is expected to be crucial in assessing player form and combinations before the high-stakes Test series begins.

Eyes on Kuldeep and Jadeja in crucial warm-up match

All eyes will be on Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the ongoing intra-squad match. India's bowling coach Morne Morkel emphasized on Wednesday that this game is crucial for India’s preparation, noting that it's difficult to build the stamina for bowling and fielding 90 overs a day just through regular practice sessions.

Although the four-day match does not have official first-class status, it serves an important purpose. For instance, a batsman dismissed early may be given another chance to bat again—making the game more flexible and focused on preparation rather than results.

This match gives the Indian team management an excellent opportunity to assess players—particularly bowlers—under simulated match conditions before the England Test series kicks off.