Australia’s women are set to face the challenge of preparing for a Test match in India while playing the WBBL with national selector Shawn Flegler revealing that planning is already underway to have both the fast bowlers and spinners increasing their bowling loads during the six-week T20 tournament in preparation for a day-night pink-ball encounter at the start of the tour.

Australia are set to play their first Test match in India since 1984 as part of a multi-format series in December and January. The dates and venues for the tour are yet to be announced but Australia are preparing to begin the series with a day-night pink-ball Test. The two teams played a day-night Test on the Gold Coast during India’s tour of Australia in 2021.

The WBBL will run from October 19 until December 2 with all of Australia’s internationals likely to play the full season. Harmanpreet Kaur is the only India player currently contracted to play in this year’s competition after being picked by Melbourne Renegades in last weekend’s overseas draft.

The current Australia team have not faced such a short turnaround from the WBBL into a Test match, let alone a Test match in India. Flegler said it would be a unique preparation but one they are already planning for.

“We’ve got to do preparation during the WBBL,” he said. “Which is really important for, one, our pace bowlers to have their loads up and be ready to go if required to bowl long spells during the Test match, but also our spin bowlers.

“So it’s a balancing act playing WBBL but also getting some loads in and preparing.”

Flegler also revealed that Australia would not play a long-form warm-up fixture before the Test despite playing a three-day tour match against England A ahead of this year’s Ashes Test.

Australia will instead hold a training camp in India with centre-wickets and an intrasquad game set to be the only match practice they get before the Test. Australia are also planning on using local Indian players in their preparation, similar to Australia’s men using net bowlers for their pre-series camp in Bengaluru ahead of the four-Test tour earlier this year.

“We’re going to go to India a week or 10 days before the Test match starts,” Flegler said. “So we’ll have some good training prep leading into that. We’ll have some extra players from India that we will use in some centre-wicket scenarios. We don’t have an actual warm-up fixture. We’ve gone down the path of having an intrasquad game essentially. So we’ll have the squad over there with some extras from India. It’ll be a good challenge for everyone coming out of WBBL into a pink-ball Test match under lights.”