England vs India: Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara explain what it would take to adjust to red-ball cricket so soon after IPL
Even the original schedule for the Indian Premier League 2025 season final (May 25) didn't leave much room for India's players to prepare for England, but the postponement to June 3 meant it was further cut short. A few of players, whose teams didn't make it to the playoffs, headed to England early to play for India A but a majority of the squad have had just over two weeks of turnaround time, including the likes of key batters in Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant to name a few. They had just the solitary intra-squad match to get ready for what is going to be a tough exercise facing the Dukes ball over the next month and a half across five Tests.
Speaking to The Indian Express, former India captain and all-time great Sachin Tendulkar elaborated what it would take to make adjustments quickly from the slam-bang world of T20 cricket. Picking length will be paramount. 'My mindset would be to pick the length early because the difference between white ball and the red ball is picking the length,' Tendulkar said. 'Depending on the three elements I mentioned at the start (the weather, overhead condition and the pitch conditions), you decide which length you are going to attack, which you are going to defend, what length can be driven on-the-rise and what lengths you cannot do that.'
'Once you've figured out that length, then it becomes relatively easy, but that clarity needs to be there in your head. I'll not mess around with a particular length where it makes my hands start going away from my body, then I could be in trouble. So, it's not just line, but length is the key. Once you have the clarity about lengths you are going to attack or defend, then you have to pick it as early as possible.'
Cheteshwar Pujara, not in the scheme of the Test squad now, spoke about the muscle memory that the IPL stars would be carrying.
'If you're coming from a white ball format, and if that's T20, then your muscle memory tends to push you to play a few more shots and your hands up a little harder,' Pujara, who has had prolific stints with Sussex in County Cricket, told The Indian Express. 'To make those necessary changes to adapt to the red ball is a bit of a challenge. And the players who are good in all three formats, they try to adapt to those things quickly. The younger players, because they don't have enough experience of playing in England, might take a little longer to adapt to those conditions.'
While India will be without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – the two stalwarts who called time on their Test careers during the IPL – all eyes will on KL Rahul – now the senior-most batter in the side – Gill, and Pant. India are also likely to kick off their transition period with B Sai Sudharsan in the mix, a talent for the long term, who has already shown his immense shot-making skills during the IPL. All of them are key batters for their franchises and have to make the change in their techniques quickly.
'I think you need enough time as well. But if you look at this series, there is time but I wouldn't say that there was a lot of time,' Pujara said. 'Because if you look at the turnaround time for players who were part of the IPL, it's just about two weeks, or a little bit more. Ideally you should get three to three and a half weeks before the big Test series to prepare after IPL.'
The first Test begins on Friday in Leeds and it will be interesting to see if the Indian batters can move on from the IPL hangover and get things straight away.
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