England coach Brendon McCullum said that the team won’t be doing a lot of training during their time off in Abu Dhabi, UAE ahead of the third Test in Rajkot against India that starts February 15. The five-match series is tied at 1-1 after the two teams won one match each.
While England won the first game in Hyderabad by 28 runs, India came back emphatically to win the next Test in Vizag by 106 runs.
“There won’t be a whole lot of training,” said McCullum before England’s departure on Wednesday (Feb 7). “We have had plenty of training days, two Tests and this is an opportunity to step away from the heat of the battle. I was talking to Rahul Dravid [India’s head coach] and he said all his boys are shooting home as well.
“Home for us is a little way away so we chose Abu Dhabi and we are going to enjoy the families [joining us]. Then when we get to Rajkot, we drop the shoulder and go hard,” McCullum added.
McCullum also took note of star India batter Virat Kohli’s expected return to the side for the next Test. Kohli was selected in the squad for the first two Tests as well but withdrew ahead of the first Test citing personal reasons.
“If Virat is coming back… we hope everything is well with his family. We will look forward to that challenge too. He is a great competitor. I know him very well and I enjoyed playing against him, I enjoyed our team playing against him. And if you have success against the best, I am sure you have earned it,” the England coach said while talking to TalkSport.