IND vs AUS 2023: Ian Healy differs with Usman Khawaja’s opinion of not having a tour game, says it can cost Oz

Worried about the Australian team management’s choice of not opting to play a tour game ahead of the highly-anticipated Test series against India, former Aussie veteran Ian Healy feels this decision could eventually cost the visitors. Healy said the tour games aren’t really for the in-form players but for the newcomers in the team and especially for the spinners. Healy looked concerned while addressing this issue to SEN Radio on Thursday, adding had there been any tour games scheduled in between the four Tests, it would have been better for struggling players or for those who are on bench to get some match time.

“I think the spinners would like a ‘bowl-off’ into it and so the non-natural players who need some repetition and to grind before getting back into it. It’s not for everyone practice matches, but it is for some,” Healy said.

He added, “How do we get players back into form? There’ll be no games in between the four Tests either. Someone who is going to be sitting on the bench for three matches might get dragged in; we’ve got to be careful.”

As Australia picked a mixed bag of experienced and relatively younger players for the India series, Healy is of the opinion that someone like Lance Morris, who is tipped to make his Test debut some time during the Test series, would have loved to get the taste of what’s it like to play on turning tracks in the sub-continent.

“I am a little bit worried, not so much for an Usman (Khawaja) and that sort of personality that he’s got with great natural flair. But a Lance Morris, I want to keep him revving, I would be looking to find games for a few of those (players). We want them to play games, see if there’s a club game if there is such a thing in India. I don’t need him (Morris) getting stale or bored without form behind him,” Healy added.

Meanwhile, earlier, Usman Khawaja – one of Aussies’ best batters in Tests in the past year, gave thumbs up to head coach Andrew McDonald’s decision of Australia not playing any schedule games before the start of the Border-Gavaskar series. He said playing on Gabba-like wickets won’t help them prepare for the India tour where they are expected to be welcomed with rank-turners. The left-handed batter further added the team learnt from its past experiences and are happy to take on the spin-heavy Indian attack.

“Have you ever been on a pre-tour with us? They can be spinning wickets when we play but we go to the practice matches and they are green Gabba-like wickets out there so what’s the point,” Khawaja told the Australian media earlier.

“I think we have finally learned. When I heard we weren’t going to have a practice game, I went up to (head coach) Andrew McDonald and said, ‘good idea’,” he added.

The four-match Test series will start on February 9th in Nagpur.