Canberra [Australia]: Ahead of his side's two-day pink-ball warm-up fixture against India, Australia's Prime Ministers' XI captain Jack Edwards said that the team is excited to go against some of the best players in the world, particularly star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and hope to put a dent into the Indian batting line-up ahead of the pink-ball Test against Australia at Adelaide from December 6 onwards.
The visitors will be aiming to brush up their skills against the pink ball as they have arrived in Canberra for the match starting from Saturday onwards.
They would be aiming to put behind the horrors of 36 all out during the Adelaide pink ball Test during their previous tour Down Under and continue with their positive and attacking cricket after a morale-shattering defeat handed to Australia by 295 runs at Perth's Optus Stadium.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Edwards said, "Excited to go out there. Hopefully, the rains stays away. Prepared really well this morning in the nets. The group is young, with some old guys in the mix. We are all excited."
"It is an amazing opportunity for both young and old stars to come up against the likes of Rohit and Virat and some of the world's best. Being around them was exciting for a lot of youngsters (at the Parliament House during interaction with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese). It is going to be awesome," he added.
Edwards, who has played 36 first-class matches and scored 1,550 runs at an average of 28.18 with two centuries and three fifties, said that any chance to pick the brains of superstar Indian players would be "unreal.".
Talking about the pitch at Manuka Oval, where the match is happening, Edwards said that the pitch has nice coverage of grass and looks hard. "It would be a challenge for the batters to start out the innings with the new ball," he added.
On the idea of Indian players facing pacer Scott Boland, the 10-Test-old star who haunted Team India during the ICC World Test Championship final last year in the UK, Edwards said that it is a difficult task to face the bowler.
"An ultimate professional. With a pink ball under the lights, he could be dangerous to face for anyone. Hopefully, he could get two of the top-order batters out and put some dent in them ahead of the Adelaide Test," he concluded.
Meanwhile, in a positive development ahead of the pink-ball, day-night Test at Adelaide Oval against Australia, young Indian batting sensation Shubman Gill was seen batting in the nets at Canberra.
In the nets, Gill was seen refining his solid defence. After missing out on the first Test due to a thumb injury, there were positive signs as not only did Gill seem to handle his bat well, but his defence also looked pretty solid.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma started practicing in the nets as he joined the team in Australia during the Perth Test after the birth of his second child.
On the other hand, India head coach Gautam Gambhir flew back home amidst the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 and will miss the two-day tour game against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The report stated that Gambhir had left the squad to be in India for personal reasons.
A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the India head coach will be back with the squad before the Adelaide Test, which will be starting on December 6.
Prime Minister XI squad for the match: Jack Edwards (c), Charlie Anderson, Mahli Beardman, Scott Boland, Jack Clayton, Aidan O'Connor, Ollie Davies, Jayden Goodwin, Sam Harper, Hanno Jacobs, Sam Konstas, Lloyd Pope, Matthew Renshaw, Jem Ryan. (ANI)