India is gearing up for its highly anticipated five-match Test series against England, commencing on June 20th. As part of their preparations, the team will engage in a four-day intra-squad match against India A, starting today, June 13th, at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM IST.

However, in news that may disappoint some fans, the match will not be telecasted or streamed live on any platform. This decision comes directly from head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has opted for a closed-door session to prevent the opposition from gaining any tactical insights. This strategy isn't new for the Indian team management, as they employed a similar approach before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia earlier this year.

The decision to keep the match behind closed doors means that fans will miss out on the opportunity to watch players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and Tushar Deshpande in action. These Rajasthan Royals players were expected to participate, adding to the excitement surrounding the match. Jaiswal and Jurel, who also featured in the unofficial Tests between India A and England Lions, have been in good form, with Jurel showcasing his consistency with three successive fifties.

The primary objective of this intra-squad match is to allow the Indian team to acclimatize to the English conditions, especially after a heavy dose of T20 cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL). The four-day match simulation will provide ample opportunity for both batsmen and bowlers to get enough time in the middle and fine-tune their skills before the Test series. Bowlers, in particular, will aim to get sufficient overs under their belt to prepare for the rigors of Test cricket.

All eyes will be on Jasprit Bumrah, India's pace spearhead, who is set to play a red-ball game after a six-month hiatus, since he left the fifth Test in Australia mid-way due to an injury. The team management will be keen to assess his fitness and workload by making him bowl multiple spells during the match.

Besides Bumrah, the team management will also be looking to address other key questions, such as selecting his ideal seam partner between Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, and choosing between Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the lone spinner. Jadeja's batting depth and handy spin, versus Kuldeep's attacking spin, present a selection dilemma for the team.

Although fans will not be able to watch the match live, they can follow live scores on the BCCI website. A player or member of the support staff will be made available to the media on the final day of the squad game.