Brendan Doggett, the 32-year-old Australian pacer, is building his fitness in India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Doggett has been recovering from a major hamstring injury and has not played a competitive game since February 2026. He is now preparing for two four-day matches against India A in Puducherry, which will serve as his pathway back to Test cricket.
On Thursday, September 18, Doggett joined Australia A teammate Jhye Richardson for a photo opportunity at Chepauk in Chennai. The Australian pacer was visibly affected by the intense Chennai heat and needed to change his Melbourne Renegades jersey during the session. This acclimatisation work forms part of Australia’s preparation for the five-match Test series against India, which begins in January 2027.
“The body is going well so far. I’ve been up and bowling and look forward to performing against India A and hopefully playing some Test cricket. I’ve been up and running at full fitness now for probably the last two months. So everything’s feeling good and in check,” Doggett was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Acclimatising to Indian conditions
The Australian pacer acknowledged the significant shift in conditions he will face during the India tour. Coming off a winter back home, the conditions are vastly different from what Australia experiences domestically. Doggett and his teammates have worked on heat adaptation to prepare for the challenging environment in Puducherry.
“Coming off a winter back home, the conditions are going to be vastly different here. But, we’ve done a bit of heat adaptation work and obviously got the workloads through the body. So, it’s going to be a great start to our season for us, everyone involved in this ‘A’ series in Pondicherry,” Doggett added.
Competing for a Test berth
Doggett is targeting a spot in Australia’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The five-match Test series in India represents one of the most significant assignments for any Australian cricketer. Growing up watching Test cricket in India, Doggett recognises the unique challenges that the subcontinent presents compared to conditions in Australia and England
“Hopefully, I can be part of the Border-Gavaskar Test squad. I think that’s one of the big series as an Australian. You know, growing up watching Test cricket in India, it looks like a real grind and a different challenge to what we’re used to in Australia and also what you get in England,” he explained.
The pacer is aware of the depth of Australia’s fast bowling stocks and the competition for places in the Test team. With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins forming the senior pace cohort, younger pacers like Doggett face significant competition. Australia’s schedule over the next 12 months includes three Tests in South Africa, four at home against New Zealand, five in India and five in England in mid-2027, which will test the team’s pace depth considerably.
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“I think it’s probably what happens when you have such quality fast bowlers who have played for such a long time in Josh [Hazlewood], Pat [Cummins], Starcy [Mitchell Starc]. These guys have just probably built a backlog of young fast bowlers who are trying to emulate everything that they’ve done and what they’ve achieved,” Doggett said.
