ヴィラット・コーリとロヒット・シャルマ（インドA）、イングランドテスト前に4日間の3試合に出場したことによるボーナス

In a lead-up to India’s Test tour of England, the ‘A’ side will play three four-day matches against the Lions. The India cricket team’s 5-match tour starts on June 20, about a month after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 ends on May 25. According to ESPNcricinfo, during this gap, India A will face the England Lions.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will be doing exactly what the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had done last year when the England cricket team toured for a 4-match Test series. The BCCI had arranged three four-day matches for the England Lions, and the ECB will reciprocate the same this summer.

Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma’s dry run

Although every Indian batter would benefit from it, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma might be the ones who need it the most. The senior batting pros are under the most amount of pressure. After starting the year great, the Indian captain had such a horrid time that he was forced to drop himself after averaging just 6.20.

Kohli didn’t do much better in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. An unbeaten hundred in Perth may have saved his face, but otherwise, he scored just 90 runs in 8 innings. There have been calls for dropping both of them, and if not, both have been urged to feature in domestic red-ball matches.

No Ranji required now?

Rohit Sharma might just do that next week, as he’s likely to feature for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir. But, nothing is certain regarding Kohli playing in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Luckily, even if they skip these matches, they’ll have some chance to prepare for the India vs England Test series courtesy of these warm-up games against England Lions.

What to expect from Rohit-Kohli?

Kohli’s overall record isn’t exceptional in England. However, one mustn’t forget how good he was in the 2018 tour, where he carried the whole team on his back. But on either side of that tour, he’s struggled to score. Rohit Sharma wasn’t above every other batter in the last England tour in 2021-22, where he averaged over 50.

But they aren’t what they used to be before. It’ll be fascinating to see if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gives them a chance, and if they fail at the start, how long they will be persisted with.