Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy, on Monday, made a scathing attack on Pat Cummins’ side for not playing tour games ahead of the four-match Test series.
Australia have lost the second Test by six wickets in Delhi inside three days.
“Never again tell me we’re not playing a tour match to begin, at least two, there’s no shortcuts to Test match success,” Healy said on SENQ Breakfast.
Healy pointed out the benefits Australia would have gotten out of the tour games.
“The selectors would have known what to do, rather than go with a pre-determined plan,” he said on SENQ Breakfast.
Healy also suggested that tour games would have helped Pat Cummins to understand the Indian condition, it would had given David Warner time to work on his footwork and would have helped to shake off the rust of T20.
“The captain won’t succumb to Indian chaos and be much more in command. He starts to learn about the pressures and how this opposition gangs up on you.
“David Warner will have time to get his footwork going in one or two preparation matches.
“There are players that played T20 or didn’t play for a month – Cummins was one of those, Nathan Lyon was one of those and he shook it off this match, he wasn’t ready in the first Test.”
On the bowlers, Healy said the tour games would have enhanced their knowledge about how to ball with a SG ball.
“Get a feel for the new ball. They use a different ball over there, it’s an SG ball, it can be slippier or grippier.
“Get a feel for all of that, how it reacts, what speed to bowl it at for these slow wickets,” he said.
Healy also pointed out that the Australian team are not used to playing three spinners and it during those tour games, where the visiting teams decide how to use them.
“Playing with three spinners, we’ve got to get used to that.
“Playing with three spinners and minimal quicks, we’ve got to get used to that.”
The third Test match will start from March 1 and will be played in Indore.