New Delhi

India coach Ravi Shastri has requested BCCI to schedule practice matches ahead of their Test series in Australia this year, but is not sure if additional fixtures can be inserted into a crammed schedule.

India are keen to make amends following a 1-4 Test series defeat in England where most of their batsmen struggled against the swinging ball in tough conditions. “We have requested a couple of games in Australia before the Test series. But is there space (to play those matches)? That is the question,” he said.

India had shortened their lone warm-up clash against Essex before the England Tests due to the heatwave in Britain. Media reports had speculated that the quality of the pitch led BCCI to curtail the match, which Essex denied.

Shastri said he was not averse to the idea of giving India’s batsmen a better chance to adjust to conditions against local sides Down Under where they play three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs against Australia starting Nov. 21.

“Why would we be? You can see the results. Every time after the second Test we have improved. You can still get better. But why can’t we be in that position in the first Test match?” Shastri added. “If you have two or three games against weaker sides we don’t mind because it is a game. But when you have a schedule as tight as this … there is very little you can do… These are things that have been approved earlier.”

Shastri said they did not lose the Test series to a collective effort from England but to all-rounder Sam Curran’s individual brilliance which became the difference at crucial junctures.