Australian cricket captain Mitchell Marsh has emphatically declared the upcoming white-ball series against India as the ultimate preparation for the Ashes series against England, which commences on November 21. The tour schedule includes three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) kicking off on October 19 in Perth, followed by a thrilling five-match T20I series starting October 29 in Canberra.
The ODI leg of the tour will see matches held at Perth Stadium, Adelaide Oval, and the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground on October 19, 23, and 25, respectively. Following this, the T20I action will unfold at Manuka Oval in Canberra, the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground, Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Gold Coast Stadium, and The Gabba in Brisbane, running from October 29 to November 8.
“We’ll have all the guys building towards the Ashes, but everyone loves playing against India. We’ve got a great rivalry and immense respect for them as a team. I believe it’s literally perfect timing to be playing against India in the lead-up to an Ashes series. It’s going to be massive,” Marsh enthusiastically shared with Fox Sports.
Australia is keen to leverage these high-stakes series to rejuvenate their squad and recover from their underwhelming T20 World Cup performance in the Caribbean and United States. The intense rivalry between Australia and India has only grown, notably evidenced by the record-breaking crowds during last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The demand for tickets is already sky-high, with the upcoming T20I clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 31 completely selling out its public allocation more than two weeks before the event.
Historically, India’s previous bilateral ODI series in Australia during 2020/21 ended in a 2-1 defeat for the visitors, though they did manage to clinch the T20I series by the same margin on that occasion. For the upcoming ODI series, Shubman Gill will take the captain’s armband for India, with star players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also named in the squad. Suryakumar Yadav is set to lead the Indian side for the T20I matches of the tour.