Andrew McDonald reveals Australia's early preparation plans for 2027 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has revealed that the team is already mapping out its preparations for the 2027 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, with several Test hopefuls likely to begin acclimatising to subcontinental conditions well before the tour gets underway.

Australia are scheduled to play a five-match Test series in India from January 21 to March 3, 2027, marking their longest Test tour of the country in nearly five decades. Unlike previous overseas assignments, however, the visitors are not expected to play a warm-up match before the series.

Instead, Cricket Australia is exploring the possibility of holding a pre-series training camp, either in India or at a neutral venue, to help players adapt to the conditions ahead of the high-profile contest.

According to McDonald, players who are not part of Australia's plans for the preceding home Test series against New Zealand could begin preparing for the India tour earlier than the rest of the squad. Some players may even skip a portion of the Big Bash League (BBL) to focus on training for the challenging conditions.

Australia are also considering preparing on specially curated turning pitches in home conditions, similar to the approach adopted before their 2023 tour of India.

Speaking to cricket.com.au, McDonald explained the team's planning process.

"We feel as though we've got enough time to immerse ourselves in those conditions. We won't be taking on a practice game. It'll just be more around the location. We've got a couple of options there. We have gone to the UAE previously and we have also gone into India last time into Bangalore, so we're just working through what that would look like in terms of how we then manage the individuals.

Players such as Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy, Cooper Connolly, Peter Handscomb, and Matthew Renshaw are among those who could come into contention for the India series, although McDonald acknowledged that the selection picture could change considerably with Australia set to play nine Tests before the tour.

"A lot of that would happen on the back of the four Tests against New Zealand, seeing where players are at. We'll potentially have some different players with different skill sets that we believe can perform in India, so it won't necessarily be the squad that finishes the Test series (against NZ that then heads to India)."

Australia's preparations underline the significance they are placing on the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the challenging Indian conditions expected to play a decisive role in the outcome of the five-Test series beginning in Nagpur on January 21, 2027.