“India, be careful”: Healy’s warning to visitors after secret closed-door training session

India has officially begun their preparations for the first Test in Perth, training behind closed doors on Wednesday at the WACA.

According to reports, a black tarp was put up on Tuesday around the venue’s nets, effectively blocking out journalists, photographers and reporters from watching the entire squad train.

While the BCCI said they didn’t instruct the WACA to give their training sessions a shroud of secrecy, according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent, construction workers at the ground were told via email that they weren’t allowed to take photos or even watch the sessions on their breaks.

Whatever the exact truth is, Aussie great Ian Healy thinks that India is making a mistake by pushing for total privacy as he thinks a siege mentality can cultivate an unhappy touring squad.

“India is now doing in Australia what Australia used to do in India, Pakistan and sometimes Sri Lanka – just not embracing the whole experience and the early media,” Healy told SENQ Breakfast.

“If you sort of open yourself to media opportunities and do them and meet the Australian public and the many Indians that are out here – it goes a long way to a much happier tour.

“There are extra reasons why India locked themselves away, we just cannot imagine the clambering throng that they have to cope with day in, day out.

“So maybe training is their safe space, and they've got to get a fair few things done and they want to do it away from the prying eyes.

“With social media, cricket in India is 1000 times more serious than in Australia.”

Healy thinks that turning people away means that the squad can’t relax and he urged India to open themselves up to both the media and fans early in the tour to ensure they get off on the right foot down under.

“It's never worked,” Healy said.

“The squad just doesn't relax when you do this, when you lock yourself away the media start turning the screws and the squad just can't relax.

“England did it when they opened themselves up, and the next one when they didn't, and it was an incredible difference in performance.

“You need to relax your squad and do some early media, then things seem to flow a lot easier in Australia.

“So, India, just be careful.”

India’s preparations will continue in Perth ahead of the first Test, which will begin at Optus Stadium on November 22.