A long season awaits the Indian team and though the appetiser — the recent tour of Zimbabwe — has been consumed, bigger challenges are looming.
The building blocks for a bounty of 17 Tests over the next year, including four in the West Indies during July and August, will be laid in the preparatory camp that commences at the National Cricket Academy here on Wednesday.
The camp, set to conclude on July 4, will also herald the return of Anil Kumble, albeit as the head coach. The strategies he devises, along with Test skipper Virat Kohli, could well form the template for a busy season that will be entirely based at home once the squad returns from the West Indies. Kumble is scheduled to address the media on Wednesday afternoon.
After a customary round of fitness tests, the camp will largely be confined to the KSCA (B) Ground and the NCA’s indoor nets as the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s turf is being relaid.
