Hamilton, Nov 9: The white-ball pace trio of Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, and Arshdeep Singh will stay back to help the Indian Test squad prepare for the crucial World Test Championship series against New Zealand starting on November 19, assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Monday.
The three are currently a part of the squad that is engaged in a five-ODI series against the Black Caps. The third game of the assignment will be held here on Tuesday.
“I think three bowlers are going to stay back anyway. Gurnoor, maybe Nabi, and I think Arsh is also staying back,” Kotak said in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
The former Saurashtra batter also said that the Test specialists will start their preparations from November 11 with skipper Shubman Gill, senior opener KL Rahul, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and pacer Anshul Kamboj leaving for Wellington after the third ODI game here on Tuesday.
“All in all, I think the preparation has been very good. On top of that, the Test players will go for a camp from the 11th, where we will get five or six sessions. Fingers crossed, we should be ready for the Test series as well.”
The coaching team will also split with head coach Gautam Gambhir staying back for the fourth and fifth ODIs scheduled on November 13 and 15 at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga.
“As far as I understand, Gautam will obviously have to be here because of the upcoming World Cup. So, he will stay here. Probably, Sairaj (Bahutule) will also stay here,” Kotak said.
“Morne (Morkel) and some other members of the staff will go to Wellington. These are the current plans, but as I said, the final decision is up to Gautam. So, things can change.
“We will just try to ensure that the players get the required workload, fitness and practice. They should get enough preparation, depending on the conditions available to us,” he added.
