India's Test and ODI captain, Shubman Gill, has stressed that the national team needs proper time for preparation before every red-ball series, to be able to compete consistently for the World Test Championship's ongoing 2025-27 cycle, where India are at the seventh position currently after winning only four games out of nine thus far.
Gill highlighted how the tight scheduling of international series recently has left little room for preparation, especially in the longest format of the game. India played the West Indies at home for a two-match series just after the Asia Cup, with only 4 days in between. Even before the series against South Africa, the Indian team had got less than a week's time to prepare, as the majority of players had returned from Australia.
He further stated that even if India had won against the Proteas, the broader issues would not have changed because real success in the five-day format starts with adequate preparation and planning with respect to time.
