AamchiMumbaikar
ODI Debutant
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No hope. We will lose with this pathetic team.
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Contact the PP Team
Which side will win the WTC23 final between Australia and India?
- Thread starter hoshiarpurexpress
- Start date
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- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has lauded the selectors' call to bring back veteran batter for the ICC World Test Championship Final.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, 25 April announced the squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final clash against Australia. Although most names in the squad list were expected, the selection of Ajinkya Rahane came as a surprise.
Rahane last featured in Tests for India in January 2022 and has since been out of favour in the red-ball setup. Before being dropped, Rahane had a horrendous 2021 where he scored just 479 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 20.82. His last Test century came at the MCG in the memorable Border-Gavaskar series of 2020/21 where he captained India's comeback after the dismal 36 all out.
Injury to Shreyas Iyer meant that there was a void to be filled in the middle order and India have backed experience for the one-off Ultimate Test
Speaking on his comeback, former India head coach Ravi Shastri felt the selectors made the right call in bringing Rahane back.
"I'm so glad he's made it to the side," Shastri told a website. "He batted beautifully in these two-three games he's played in the IPL, has looked in great touch. And let's not forget the experience he has. The moment Shreyas Iyer was injured, you had to look in that direction."
"People think he's just played three IPL games and that's why he's in the side. They must have been on holiday for six months when he was playing first-class cricket. They must've been somewhere in the jungle where there's no contact with anyone in the world. When you go six months into a holiday, you miss those 600 runs."
His performances in the Indian Premier League so far as well as his domestic showings have paved the way for a comeback into the side. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Rahane has been handed a new lease of life, scoring 224 runs in six matches at a stunning strike rate of 189.83.
Prior to the IPL, he went back to the drawing board in Ranji Trophy and returned 634 runs in seven matches for Mumbai, which included two centuries.
"Absolutely, it's a one-off big game, like the Super Bowl, and you need your experienced player," Shastri added. "Don't forget just two-and-a-half years ago, the man won a Test series in Australia. He was the captain when Virat [Kohli] went [on paternity leave] and did a sterling job.
"People forget that hundred at the MCG, the way he played, and the fact that he's gone back to the grind. You saw what it did with Pujara, he went back to the grind playing domestic cricket, playing county cricket, just got the number of runs under his belt, then came back into Test cricket and performed. It's the same thing with Rahane, let's hope that experience comes handy."
India will be hoping Ajinkya Rahane can set the stage on fire upon his return, given he looks to be going back straight into the XI for the World Test Championship Final. Having fallen short of the hurdle the previous time against New Zealand in 2021, Rohit Sharma and co. will be keen to end India's senior men's ICC trophy drought with victory over Australia at the Oval.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/3245109
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, 25 April announced the squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final clash against Australia. Although most names in the squad list were expected, the selection of Ajinkya Rahane came as a surprise.
Rahane last featured in Tests for India in January 2022 and has since been out of favour in the red-ball setup. Before being dropped, Rahane had a horrendous 2021 where he scored just 479 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 20.82. His last Test century came at the MCG in the memorable Border-Gavaskar series of 2020/21 where he captained India's comeback after the dismal 36 all out.
Injury to Shreyas Iyer meant that there was a void to be filled in the middle order and India have backed experience for the one-off Ultimate Test
Speaking on his comeback, former India head coach Ravi Shastri felt the selectors made the right call in bringing Rahane back.
"I'm so glad he's made it to the side," Shastri told a website. "He batted beautifully in these two-three games he's played in the IPL, has looked in great touch. And let's not forget the experience he has. The moment Shreyas Iyer was injured, you had to look in that direction."
"People think he's just played three IPL games and that's why he's in the side. They must have been on holiday for six months when he was playing first-class cricket. They must've been somewhere in the jungle where there's no contact with anyone in the world. When you go six months into a holiday, you miss those 600 runs."
His performances in the Indian Premier League so far as well as his domestic showings have paved the way for a comeback into the side. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Rahane has been handed a new lease of life, scoring 224 runs in six matches at a stunning strike rate of 189.83.
Prior to the IPL, he went back to the drawing board in Ranji Trophy and returned 634 runs in seven matches for Mumbai, which included two centuries.
"Absolutely, it's a one-off big game, like the Super Bowl, and you need your experienced player," Shastri added. "Don't forget just two-and-a-half years ago, the man won a Test series in Australia. He was the captain when Virat [Kohli] went [on paternity leave] and did a sterling job.
"People forget that hundred at the MCG, the way he played, and the fact that he's gone back to the grind. You saw what it did with Pujara, he went back to the grind playing domestic cricket, playing county cricket, just got the number of runs under his belt, then came back into Test cricket and performed. It's the same thing with Rahane, let's hope that experience comes handy."
India will be hoping Ajinkya Rahane can set the stage on fire upon his return, given he looks to be going back straight into the XI for the World Test Championship Final. Having fallen short of the hurdle the previous time against New Zealand in 2021, Rohit Sharma and co. will be keen to end India's senior men's ICC trophy drought with victory over Australia at the Oval.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/3245109
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
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- 218,111
India face two new injury battles just over a month out from their ICC World Test Championship final meeting with Australia.
Key batter KL Rahul and pacer Jaydev Unadkat have sent scares through the national camp with hamstring and shoulder problems respectively, both while on IPL duty.
Left-arm quick Unadkat fell in a freak accident on Sunday, tripping on a wire in his follow through during a net session. The 31-year-old left training heavily strapped, and is a doubt to take part in the one-off World Test Championship final at The Oval from June 7.
The injury compounds India’s fast bowling fitness issues, with Jasprit Bumrah not named in the squad and targeting the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup campaign at the end of the year after recently undergoing back surgery. Unadkat is one of five bowlers named in the squad to take on Australia, though Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav are under fitness clouds of their own.
Rahul’s injury adds to injury woes on the batting side, and could force a change of philosophy for India come the final.
Already missing Shreyas Iyer and first-choice wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, Rahul limped off the field during Lucknow Super Giants’ match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, refusing to be stretchered off as he clutched his leg.
Rahane returns as India name World Test Championship Final squad
Should he not take part in the WTC final, Ajinkya Rahane would likely make his first Test appearance in over a year, with Shubman Gill to join skipper Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Assuming Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli line up at No.3 and No.4, Rahane would slide in at No.5.
Meanwhile, final opponents Australia are seemingly on course to make their final push for the WTC mace with a clean bill of health.
Experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood made a successful return from an Achilles injury that has kept him out since the Sydney Test in January, taking 2/15 from three overs and helping Royal Challengers Bangalore defend their miserly 126.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
ICC
Key batter KL Rahul and pacer Jaydev Unadkat have sent scares through the national camp with hamstring and shoulder problems respectively, both while on IPL duty.
Left-arm quick Unadkat fell in a freak accident on Sunday, tripping on a wire in his follow through during a net session. The 31-year-old left training heavily strapped, and is a doubt to take part in the one-off World Test Championship final at The Oval from June 7.
The injury compounds India’s fast bowling fitness issues, with Jasprit Bumrah not named in the squad and targeting the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup campaign at the end of the year after recently undergoing back surgery. Unadkat is one of five bowlers named in the squad to take on Australia, though Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav are under fitness clouds of their own.
Rahul’s injury adds to injury woes on the batting side, and could force a change of philosophy for India come the final.
Already missing Shreyas Iyer and first-choice wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, Rahul limped off the field during Lucknow Super Giants’ match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, refusing to be stretchered off as he clutched his leg.
Rahane returns as India name World Test Championship Final squad
Should he not take part in the WTC final, Ajinkya Rahane would likely make his first Test appearance in over a year, with Shubman Gill to join skipper Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Assuming Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli line up at No.3 and No.4, Rahane would slide in at No.5.
Meanwhile, final opponents Australia are seemingly on course to make their final push for the WTC mace with a clean bill of health.
Experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood made a successful return from an Achilles injury that has kept him out since the Sydney Test in January, taking 2/15 from three overs and helping Royal Challengers Bangalore defend their miserly 126.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
ICC
cricketjoshila
Test Captain
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Shardul Thakur is also not fully fit.
Umesh Yadav is also injured.
blessings in disguise?
Hitman
Senior T20I Player
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It hurts when you lose after reaching the finals.
cricketjoshila
Test Captain
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But our selection committee doesn't give new guys any chance.
Devadwal
T20I Star
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Easy win coming for Australia
Hitman
Senior T20I Player
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It's a shame that Rohit and Rahul are still playing Test cricket. Add to that, Mr. Rahane makes a comeback. I'd like to add Kohli too to that list, but I'm a big fan and have my bias for him.
What kind of supporter you guys are? Giving up on your team even before a ball being bowled?
The last test series Australia won over India was in 2014, when MSD was still our test captain. We have since beaten them twice in India and Australia. India has got mental edge over them.
I am very sure we will beat Australia in WTC finals too and lift the trophy. Just a bit of sunny Lords and game will be even more one sided towards India.
Rajdeep's prediction - India to lift WTC under Rohit Sharma
Ab Fan
Senior Test Player
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What kind of supporter you guys are? Giving up on your team even before a ball being bowled?
The last test series Australia won over India was in 2014, when MSD was still our test captain. We have since beaten them twice in India and Australia. India has got mental edge over them.
I am very sure we will beat Australia in WTC finals too and lift the trophy. Just a bit of sunny Lords and game will be even more one sided towards India.
Rajdeep's prediction - India to lift WTC under Rohit Sharma
My prediction:
India 68 all out, Jadeja 16*
Aus 334 all out, Green 92
India 183 all out, Rahane 79
Conclusion - India loses the WTC Final twice post which Rahane goes on to play 20 more tests and complete his 100 test landmark.
Bhaag Viru Bhaag
T20I Star
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India will surely miss Rishabh Pant and Bumrah. 
Cover Drive Six
First Class Captain
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Oval is not Lords.
Devadwal
T20I Star
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India will surely miss Rishabh Pant and Bumrah.
Yes but we still have bowling line up to win the WTC final but main worry is our batting line up.Rohit , Pujara, Kohli ,Rahul, Rahane all are playing on past reputation rather than performance . pant was only our hope along with Jadeja to contribute some impact full runs .
Devadwal
T20I Star
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Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Virat
Rahane
KL ( Wk)
Jadeja
Thakur
Umesh
Siraj
Shami
This should be our playing eleven from selected team
Gill
Pujara
Virat
Rahane
KL ( Wk)
Jadeja
Thakur
Umesh
Siraj
Shami
This should be our playing eleven from selected team
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Team India are all set to face Australia in the final match of the World Test Championship final that will kick off on June 7 at The Oval, London. The Rohit Sharma-led side has already announced the squad for the match. Team India has now got an injury scare in the form Jaydev Unadkat. The left-arm pacer, who is also among the 15 members selected for the big game, hurt himself while bowling in nets during the ongoing Indian Premier League season.
IPL on Monday shared a video on social media, wishing a quick and speedy recovery to Unadkat. The clip had the pacer falling abruptly on the pitch on the follow-up after delivering a ball.
It is worth noting that India will already be missing the services of star pacer Jasprit Bumram, who is currently injured and out of cricketing action. While Unadkat's inclusion into the playing XI for the WTC final seems uncertain, India would still hope for the pacer to be available for selection.
Ajinkya Rahane made his Team India return for the WTC final while Suryakumar Yadav failed to make it to the 5-member squad. Rahane, a veteran of 82 Test matches, last played for India in the longest format of the game in January last year. Since then, he was not considered for selection owing to poor form. However, having done well in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the 34-year-old made his way back.
NDTV
IPL on Monday shared a video on social media, wishing a quick and speedy recovery to Unadkat. The clip had the pacer falling abruptly on the pitch on the follow-up after delivering a ball.
It is worth noting that India will already be missing the services of star pacer Jasprit Bumram, who is currently injured and out of cricketing action. While Unadkat's inclusion into the playing XI for the WTC final seems uncertain, India would still hope for the pacer to be available for selection.
Ajinkya Rahane made his Team India return for the WTC final while Suryakumar Yadav failed to make it to the 5-member squad. Rahane, a veteran of 82 Test matches, last played for India in the longest format of the game in January last year. Since then, he was not considered for selection owing to poor form. However, having done well in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the 34-year-old made his way back.
NDTV
Ab Fan
Senior Test Player
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India will surely miss Rishabh Pant and Bumrah.
Massive loss to the game..
Bhaag Viru Bhaag
T20I Star
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Australia will start as favourites because India will miss two most important members of test team. Bringing back Rahane was a step backward. Not sure what were our selectors thinking?
India will surely miss Rishabh Pant and Bumrah.
Pant is a much bigger miss, massive - cannot be even 5% fulfilled by any others!
Yes they should go with KL as keeper, because this a one-off game and he is a decent keeper! But his latest injury (in last match) might be a setback (he may not even play as batsman - let's see) Playing Bharath is already advantage given to Australia, his keeping is not even better than KL Rahul.
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KL Rahul rules himself out of the WTC final
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Bilal7
T20I Star
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2012
- Runs
- 31,707
- Post of the Week
- 1
Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Jadeja
Bharat
Ashwin
Umesh
Shami
Siraj
The XI that that we'll see get exposed at the WTC. Again.
Gill
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Jadeja
Bharat
Ashwin
Umesh
Shami
Siraj
The XI that that we'll see get exposed at the WTC. Again.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
India will be without the services of KL Rahul in the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval and will have a variety of options to choose from as his replacement.
Rahul suffered an injury while fielding during the Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, 1 May. He will now undergo surgery on his thigh which has ruled him out of the marquee clash against Australia at The Oval, starting 7 June.
Rahul would have been a crucial member of the squad due to his experience playing in England, as well as due to his versatility. Rahul would have potentially covered three roles in the Indian setup – opening batter, middle-order batter and as wicketkeeper-batter.
Replacing a player with Rahul's experience will be a tough ask for the Indian team management, but they have a few options at their disposal who they could call upon. We take a look at them:
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was a part of the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia but served as the backup keeper, with KS Bharat getting the nod.
Kishan though has plenty of experience in international cricket and the IPL and can bat anywhere in the order. Kishan has featured in 41 international matches for India in the shorter format but boasts of a decent record in First-class cricket, playing 48 matches and scoring 2985 runs at 38.76.
He could well be the frontrunner for a call-up in the India squad due to his past experience and flexibility.
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has been banging at the doors of selectors, arguably being the most impressive performer in the Indian domestic circuit.
Sarfaraz bats in the middle-order for Mumbai and has impressed everyone with his attacking brand of cricket. In 37 First-class games, he has scored 3505 runs at an impressive 79.65.
Despite the favourable numbers, Sarfaraz is yet to receive an international call-up and it remains to be seen whether the Indian team management will decide to blood him in during such a high-stakes game.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
The rising youngster has been making waves on the India's domestic circuit and has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL this season.
Jaiswal has long been touted as India's future opener after making his name at the 2020 ICC Men's U19 World Cup in South Africa and his game has only continued to improve.
The 21-year-old has featured in 15 First-Class games and has 1845 runs at a staggering average of 80.21, with 9 centuries to his name. In IPL 2023, Jaiswal has scored 442 runs in 10 games so far, including a brilliant ton against Mumbai Indians.
As with Sarfaraz, the management might well believe that the World Test Championship Final could be too big of an occasion to hand young Jaiswal his maiden international call-up.
Ajinkya Rahane
The veteran is already in the squad for the clash against Australia and will almost certainly be a lock-in selection with Rahul's untimely injury.
The general consensus was that it would well come down to a clash between Rahul and Rahane for a place in the India XI, come 7 June and the former vice-captain is now likely to get the nod at his preferred No.5 position in the batting order.
India will likely name a replacement for the injured Rahul in the squad, but Rahane, with 82 Tests under his belt is now almost a certainty once the team sheets come out.
ICC
Rahul suffered an injury while fielding during the Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, 1 May. He will now undergo surgery on his thigh which has ruled him out of the marquee clash against Australia at The Oval, starting 7 June.
Rahul would have been a crucial member of the squad due to his experience playing in England, as well as due to his versatility. Rahul would have potentially covered three roles in the Indian setup – opening batter, middle-order batter and as wicketkeeper-batter.
Replacing a player with Rahul's experience will be a tough ask for the Indian team management, but they have a few options at their disposal who they could call upon. We take a look at them:
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was a part of the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia but served as the backup keeper, with KS Bharat getting the nod.
Kishan though has plenty of experience in international cricket and the IPL and can bat anywhere in the order. Kishan has featured in 41 international matches for India in the shorter format but boasts of a decent record in First-class cricket, playing 48 matches and scoring 2985 runs at 38.76.
He could well be the frontrunner for a call-up in the India squad due to his past experience and flexibility.
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has been banging at the doors of selectors, arguably being the most impressive performer in the Indian domestic circuit.
Sarfaraz bats in the middle-order for Mumbai and has impressed everyone with his attacking brand of cricket. In 37 First-class games, he has scored 3505 runs at an impressive 79.65.
Despite the favourable numbers, Sarfaraz is yet to receive an international call-up and it remains to be seen whether the Indian team management will decide to blood him in during such a high-stakes game.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
The rising youngster has been making waves on the India's domestic circuit and has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL this season.
Jaiswal has long been touted as India's future opener after making his name at the 2020 ICC Men's U19 World Cup in South Africa and his game has only continued to improve.
The 21-year-old has featured in 15 First-Class games and has 1845 runs at a staggering average of 80.21, with 9 centuries to his name. In IPL 2023, Jaiswal has scored 442 runs in 10 games so far, including a brilliant ton against Mumbai Indians.
As with Sarfaraz, the management might well believe that the World Test Championship Final could be too big of an occasion to hand young Jaiswal his maiden international call-up.
Ajinkya Rahane
The veteran is already in the squad for the clash against Australia and will almost certainly be a lock-in selection with Rahul's untimely injury.
The general consensus was that it would well come down to a clash between Rahul and Rahane for a place in the India XI, come 7 June and the former vice-captain is now likely to get the nod at his preferred No.5 position in the batting order.
India will likely name a replacement for the injured Rahul in the squad, but Rahane, with 82 Tests under his belt is now almost a certainty once the team sheets come out.
ICC
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
The losing finalists of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, India get another chance of lifting the coveted tournament Mace when they take on Australia in the Ultimate Test – the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle at The Oval – the famous South London Test venue with 104 Tests to its credit.
Just like Australia, The Oval has not been a happy hunting ground for India traditionally. However, they should enter the Ultimate Test in a buoyant mood considering both their recent results against Australia (2-1 home series win) and a convincing 157-run win over England, in their last Test at The Oval.
The September 2021 England-India Oval Test was the fourth match of India’s first ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle series. India started the Test on the backfoot and conceded a 99-run first innings lead. A magnificent 127 by seasoned opener Rohit Sharma brought India back in the hunt. A series of notable contributions by the top, middle and lower order helped India amass a 466-run second innings total.
England who were set a 368-run target crashed to 210 all out to hand India a thumping victory. The Indian bowling attack produced a superb performance with Umesh Yadav leading the pack with three wickets. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece. Two years later, the core of The Oval’s triumphant side has been retained in India’s Ultimate Test squad.
The 2021 win was only the second one for India at the venue which is renowned for its sporting character – even pace and bounce with help for the spinners on day four and five. Traditionally, some strong Indian teams of the past have failed to make an impact at The Oval.
India first played a Test at The Oval in August 1936. England prevailed by nine wickets through a dominant all-round performance with the bat and ball. After two draws and an innings defeat, India tasted success at long last at The Oval in 1971.
Leg-spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s six second innings wickets (six for 38 – best innings figures by an Indian bowler at The Oval) caused an England batting collapse leaving India a 173-run second innings target which they chased down for the loss of six wickets.
The 1971 win was followed by five consecutive draws. England then recorded three back-to-back victories including two innings wins before India’s resurgent win two years ago.
India’s current head coach and batting great Rahul Dravid has the most runs for an Indian batter at The Oval. In five innings of his three Tests, Dravid amassed 443 runs at 110.75. Dravid scored 217 in the drawn 2002 series where he also earned the Player of the Series award for his 602 runs.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is placed behind Dravid on India’s The Oval run-getters list. Tendulkar scored 272 runs in four Tests at the venue with the help of three fifties. Another Indian great Ravi Shastri is third on the list with 253 runs in his two The Oval appearances at 84.33.
Amongst the current batters KL Rahul has a tally of 249 in two The Oval Tests including a 149-run effort in 2018.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja leads the bowlers pack with 11 wickets in his two The Oval Tests. Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev grabbed 10 wickets in his three Tests at the venue while Chandrasekhar entered his name in the history books by masterminding the 1971 win with a tally of eight wickets – third most for an Indian bowler at the venue.
The 664 all out in 2007 is India’s highest total at the venue followed by 606 for nine declared in the 1990 Test. The Dravid inspired India posted 508 all out in the 2002 Test.
India’s lowest innings total is 94 in an innings in the 244-run defeat in 2014 while they were bowled out for 98 in the 1952 drawn Test at The Oval.
ICC
Just like Australia, The Oval has not been a happy hunting ground for India traditionally. However, they should enter the Ultimate Test in a buoyant mood considering both their recent results against Australia (2-1 home series win) and a convincing 157-run win over England, in their last Test at The Oval.
The September 2021 England-India Oval Test was the fourth match of India’s first ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle series. India started the Test on the backfoot and conceded a 99-run first innings lead. A magnificent 127 by seasoned opener Rohit Sharma brought India back in the hunt. A series of notable contributions by the top, middle and lower order helped India amass a 466-run second innings total.
England who were set a 368-run target crashed to 210 all out to hand India a thumping victory. The Indian bowling attack produced a superb performance with Umesh Yadav leading the pack with three wickets. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece. Two years later, the core of The Oval’s triumphant side has been retained in India’s Ultimate Test squad.
The 2021 win was only the second one for India at the venue which is renowned for its sporting character – even pace and bounce with help for the spinners on day four and five. Traditionally, some strong Indian teams of the past have failed to make an impact at The Oval.
India first played a Test at The Oval in August 1936. England prevailed by nine wickets through a dominant all-round performance with the bat and ball. After two draws and an innings defeat, India tasted success at long last at The Oval in 1971.
Leg-spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s six second innings wickets (six for 38 – best innings figures by an Indian bowler at The Oval) caused an England batting collapse leaving India a 173-run second innings target which they chased down for the loss of six wickets.
The 1971 win was followed by five consecutive draws. England then recorded three back-to-back victories including two innings wins before India’s resurgent win two years ago.
India’s current head coach and batting great Rahul Dravid has the most runs for an Indian batter at The Oval. In five innings of his three Tests, Dravid amassed 443 runs at 110.75. Dravid scored 217 in the drawn 2002 series where he also earned the Player of the Series award for his 602 runs.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is placed behind Dravid on India’s The Oval run-getters list. Tendulkar scored 272 runs in four Tests at the venue with the help of three fifties. Another Indian great Ravi Shastri is third on the list with 253 runs in his two The Oval appearances at 84.33.
Amongst the current batters KL Rahul has a tally of 249 in two The Oval Tests including a 149-run effort in 2018.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja leads the bowlers pack with 11 wickets in his two The Oval Tests. Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev grabbed 10 wickets in his three Tests at the venue while Chandrasekhar entered his name in the history books by masterminding the 1971 win with a tally of eight wickets – third most for an Indian bowler at the venue.
The 664 all out in 2007 is India’s highest total at the venue followed by 606 for nine declared in the 1990 Test. The Dravid inspired India posted 508 all out in the 2002 Test.
India’s lowest innings total is 94 in an innings in the 244-run defeat in 2014 while they were bowled out for 98 in the 1952 drawn Test at The Oval.
ICC
KL Rahul suffered an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding during Match 43rd of TATA IPL 2023 between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 1st May. After consultations with specialists, it has been decided that Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy for the same. He is ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia.
Jaydev Unadkat sustained a left shoulder injury by tripping over the side rope while bowling in the nets. A specialist consultation has been sought and the left-arm fast bowler is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder. A decision on his participation in the WTC final will be taken at a later stage.
Umesh Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during Match 36 of TATA IPL 2023 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 26 April. The fast bowler is currently under the care of the KKR Medical Team and has started low-intensity bowling as part of his rehab process. The BCCI Medical Team is in regular touch with KKR Medical Team and is closely monitoring Umesh’s progress.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s replacement.
India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.
Jaydev Unadkat sustained a left shoulder injury by tripping over the side rope while bowling in the nets. A specialist consultation has been sought and the left-arm fast bowler is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder. A decision on his participation in the WTC final will be taken at a later stage.
Umesh Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during Match 36 of TATA IPL 2023 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 26 April. The fast bowler is currently under the care of the KKR Medical Team and has started low-intensity bowling as part of his rehab process. The BCCI Medical Team is in regular touch with KKR Medical Team and is closely monitoring Umesh’s progress.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s replacement.
India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
After a long drawn out IPL schedule another crucial Test match will be played. This is the third crucial match i remember
1) India missed 5th test due to IPL and replayed that right after IPL
2) Played WTC final right after IPL
3) Will be playing WTC final right after IPL
This is going to be another mega flop for team India
1) India missed 5th test due to IPL and replayed that right after IPL
2) Played WTC final right after IPL
3) Will be playing WTC final right after IPL
This is going to be another mega flop for team India
Ishan Kishan in Test squad makes no sense. He is highly inconsistent and his Test Keeping is a big question mark. They could have selected a proper keeper like Jitesh Sharma who can bat very well. Poor choice I feel.
Overall, this Indian team is decent. Australia should win this easily. Rohit is in terrible form and Rahane and Pujara do not inspire much confidence.
Overall, this Indian team is decent. Australia should win this easily. Rohit is in terrible form and Rahane and Pujara do not inspire much confidence.
cricketjoshila
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Runs
- 48,322
- Post of the Week
- 1
Rahane brought back? Why? Yashasvi has a much better ranji and IPL record in last 18 months, but he won't be selected. Why? Because he will threaten KL''s place.
Ishan Kishan wont last 20 balls in test. Yet he is selected and not Samson or even Jitesh. Why?
This Indian team selection is now all about friends.
Ishan Kishan wont last 20 balls in test. Yet he is selected and not Samson or even Jitesh. Why?
This Indian team selection is now all about friends.
CrIc_Mystique
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Runs
- 4,593
I wish we had selected umraan malik in WTC squad. A bowling lineup of the 2 mo's umraan, shardul/jads and ash would test aus. Its another matter that our batting is pathetic and coming in from 35 deg heat playing in the elephantine never ending IPL is not gonna help. We need a LH batsmen in the top order and yash jaiswal instead of jinks would be better.
I feel umraan can make the difference as he can push the aussies on the back foot. Are we prepared to take this bold risk? last i read, we have selected uselelss jaydev unadkat.
i feel a big towelling from the aussies is on the cards.
I feel umraan can make the difference as he can push the aussies on the back foot. Are we prepared to take this bold risk? last i read, we have selected uselelss jaydev unadkat.
i feel a big towelling from the aussies is on the cards.
Last edited:
CrIc_Mystique
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Runs
- 4,593
less than 2 weeks to go for WTC finals and our guys, media, mindset, psyche is still hooked onto the mickeymouse tel kangi IPL over who makes the playoffs, MSD entry into the ground, celebrity sightings and vk vs gg saas bahu tomfoolery.
Look at the number of Aus players already playing in the county scene, getting acclimatised and our guys will rock up straight from 35 degree heat and hopefully are not 15/5 in the first hour on the first day.
When it comes to foresight and forward planning, the cement heads at BCCI are experts to churn out the moolah but nothing to do to assist us in winning.
No succession plan in place when VK, Che pu, hitman, Ash, Shami, Jads, ishant, jinks etc all go out in one go - Where are the replacements?
Sitting ducks for the WTC finals - thanks to BCCI!
Look at the number of Aus players already playing in the county scene, getting acclimatised and our guys will rock up straight from 35 degree heat and hopefully are not 15/5 in the first hour on the first day.
When it comes to foresight and forward planning, the cement heads at BCCI are experts to churn out the moolah but nothing to do to assist us in winning.
No succession plan in place when VK, Che pu, hitman, Ash, Shami, Jads, ishant, jinks etc all go out in one go - Where are the replacements?
Sitting ducks for the WTC finals - thanks to BCCI!
JaDed
T20I Captain
- Joined
- May 5, 2014
- Runs
- 40,612
Unfortunately true but Media doesn’t care about WTC , it’s for the Test fans.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Australia legend Ricky Ponting has revealed Virat Kohli feels he ‘back to his absolute best’ and said his wicket would be the most prized by Australian players in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final.
Ponting was speaking at the official curtain raiser for the event in New Delhi on Friday (19 May) morning. The most successful men's Australian captain unveiled the Test Mace – the coveted trophy India and Australia are vying for – and then interacted with local academy kids and the media in an event organised by the ICC.
Ponting is set to head back home following Delhi Capitals' final game of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. Still, he said he “can’t wait” to get to London shortly after that in his capacity as a commentator for the WTC23 Final.
Ravi Shastri selects his standout young players at the IPL on The ICC Review that could still feature at the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
The 48-year-old looked visibly excited about the prospect of watching high-quality Test cricket at The Oval from June 7, in particular the match-ups between some of the best in the business.
One of them being India No.4 Kohli. The 34-year-old has been irresistible since he found form – he scored his sixth IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday – and Ponting believes that spells trouble for Australia.
“I caught up with Virat about a month ago when we played them in Bangalore,” said Ponting. “And I had a good chat to him about his batting and where he was at and his career. And he said to me then that he actually feels like he's almost back to his absolute best.
“You probably saw that last night, you know, he's had a very good IPL and I'm sure he'll be the prize wicket that all the Australians are looking are looking forward to.”
India will be missing some key players for The Ultimate Test – Rishabh Pant is a long-term absentee, KL Rahul was ruled out of the Final after sustaining an injury in the IPL, and Jasprit Bumrah is continuing his rehabilitation from a back problem.
That in mind, Ponting said the Final would revolve around the contest between India’s top order and Australia’s pace attack. “I think it'll be India's top order against Australia's fast bowling, It’s a bit of a mouth-watering thought going forward.
“Generally, we think about the battles between India's spinners and Australia's batters. But will that be negated by the wicket at The Oval? Normally the wickets that I've played on The Oval have started as really good batting wickets, and actually have offered a little bit to the spinners as the game's going on.
“That's what I'd like to see in this wicket – to have a really good contest on day four, day five, or maybe even day six, seeing how it's going.”
There’s been talk about how a significant portion of India’s WTC squad have been playing the IPL in the lead up to the Test, as opposed to just four from Australia, and how that would affect their preparations for the Test.
But Ponting believes there are advantages with both approaches. “There are two ways you can look at it,” he said. “For someone like Virat (Kohli) – is he better off playing now and scoring runs at a consistent basis, and have confidence going into a game? Rather than being the Australian guys that have been back home, haven't been playing much cricket, will be mentally better prepared, but haven't got the runs and cricket under their belt …
“Is Mohammad Shami going to be in a better (position) skill-wise than what Pat Cummins is? Cummins hasn't played any cricket for a few months now. It's a hard one. A lot of it comes down to the individual.
“The Indian players that are here playing in the IPL won't only be thinking about the IPL. They'll be on workload management stuff to make sure that they're right to bowl in a Test match in a couple of weeks’ time.
“There's two ways to look at it – I'm not sure there's a right or wrong. What the Australian players have done though, you know, with Steve Smith and (Marnus) Labuschange being in England there, getting used to the conditions the best they can – they're giving themselves the best chance. Michael Nesser and Sean Abbott are also over there, bowling, making sure they're ready in case there's an injury to any of the Australian fast bowlers.
“I don't think there's an advantage either way, to be honest. But I'm sure if you ask Virat what he'd rather be doing, he'd say he'd rather be scoring runs now. If you ask the fast bowlers they'd probably say that they'd probably prefer to have a couple of weeks rest. It works both ways.”
The ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final will be played at The Oval, starting June 7.
ICC
Ponting was speaking at the official curtain raiser for the event in New Delhi on Friday (19 May) morning. The most successful men's Australian captain unveiled the Test Mace – the coveted trophy India and Australia are vying for – and then interacted with local academy kids and the media in an event organised by the ICC.
Ponting is set to head back home following Delhi Capitals' final game of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. Still, he said he “can’t wait” to get to London shortly after that in his capacity as a commentator for the WTC23 Final.
Ravi Shastri selects his standout young players at the IPL on The ICC Review that could still feature at the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
The 48-year-old looked visibly excited about the prospect of watching high-quality Test cricket at The Oval from June 7, in particular the match-ups between some of the best in the business.
One of them being India No.4 Kohli. The 34-year-old has been irresistible since he found form – he scored his sixth IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday – and Ponting believes that spells trouble for Australia.
“I caught up with Virat about a month ago when we played them in Bangalore,” said Ponting. “And I had a good chat to him about his batting and where he was at and his career. And he said to me then that he actually feels like he's almost back to his absolute best.
“You probably saw that last night, you know, he's had a very good IPL and I'm sure he'll be the prize wicket that all the Australians are looking are looking forward to.”
India will be missing some key players for The Ultimate Test – Rishabh Pant is a long-term absentee, KL Rahul was ruled out of the Final after sustaining an injury in the IPL, and Jasprit Bumrah is continuing his rehabilitation from a back problem.
That in mind, Ponting said the Final would revolve around the contest between India’s top order and Australia’s pace attack. “I think it'll be India's top order against Australia's fast bowling, It’s a bit of a mouth-watering thought going forward.
“Generally, we think about the battles between India's spinners and Australia's batters. But will that be negated by the wicket at The Oval? Normally the wickets that I've played on The Oval have started as really good batting wickets, and actually have offered a little bit to the spinners as the game's going on.
“That's what I'd like to see in this wicket – to have a really good contest on day four, day five, or maybe even day six, seeing how it's going.”
There’s been talk about how a significant portion of India’s WTC squad have been playing the IPL in the lead up to the Test, as opposed to just four from Australia, and how that would affect their preparations for the Test.
But Ponting believes there are advantages with both approaches. “There are two ways you can look at it,” he said. “For someone like Virat (Kohli) – is he better off playing now and scoring runs at a consistent basis, and have confidence going into a game? Rather than being the Australian guys that have been back home, haven't been playing much cricket, will be mentally better prepared, but haven't got the runs and cricket under their belt …
“Is Mohammad Shami going to be in a better (position) skill-wise than what Pat Cummins is? Cummins hasn't played any cricket for a few months now. It's a hard one. A lot of it comes down to the individual.
“The Indian players that are here playing in the IPL won't only be thinking about the IPL. They'll be on workload management stuff to make sure that they're right to bowl in a Test match in a couple of weeks’ time.
“There's two ways to look at it – I'm not sure there's a right or wrong. What the Australian players have done though, you know, with Steve Smith and (Marnus) Labuschange being in England there, getting used to the conditions the best they can – they're giving themselves the best chance. Michael Nesser and Sean Abbott are also over there, bowling, making sure they're ready in case there's an injury to any of the Australian fast bowlers.
“I don't think there's an advantage either way, to be honest. But I'm sure if you ask Virat what he'd rather be doing, he'd say he'd rather be scoring runs now. If you ask the fast bowlers they'd probably say that they'd probably prefer to have a couple of weeks rest. It works both ways.”
The ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final will be played at The Oval, starting June 7.
ICC
docteurmanish
Tape Ball Regular
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Runs
- 389
Hyped up Kohli .
India has no pant . No bumrah . Shami siraj only . No kuldeep either .
Team selection wrt bowling is not good . Aussie will win ..
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Australia have issued an update on the fitness of key pacer Josh Hazlewood ahead of a busy schedule of cricket that consists of the ICC World Test Championship final against India and five Ashes Tests.
Hazlewood has been battling injury issues for a prolonged period now, not playing a single Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. Hazlewood's planned return to cricket during the ongoing IPL was also delayed, with the pacer only featuring in his first match after the halfway point of the tournament.
The experienced quick has had a minimal impact in the IPL, only featuring in three matches and bowling nine overs. He last featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 9 and flew back home early to Australia before their last match after reporting side soreness.
This has raised concerns about his fitness ahead of a blockbuster schedule of Test cricket for Australia, with Pat Cummins' side playing the World Test Championship final against India and five Ashes Tests against England in June and July. Hazlewood has been named in the squad for the World Test Championship final as well as the first two Ashes Tests.
In a major relief for the pacer, scans have revealed no damage and he has now returned to bowling as the Australian squad prepares to depart for the UK.
Cricket Australia are confident that Hazlewood will be fit and firing for the Test matches ahead, ready to aide skipper Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the pace trio.
A CA spokesperson giving an update on Hazlewood stated, as quoted by a media source, "Josh Hazlewood returned home from the IPL last weekend after experiencing minor side soreness after the completion of his most recent IPL match.
"After a brief and precautionary rest period, Hazlewood returned to high-intensity bowling last week and will continue to increase his bowling workloads in preparation for the WTC and Ashes series. Hazlewood is considered fit and available for the WTC and Ashes Series."
The World Test Championship between Australia and India will be played at The Oval in London between June 7-11, with Cummins' side immediately embarking on an Ashes campaign scheduled to be held between June 16 and July 31.
ICC
Hazlewood has been battling injury issues for a prolonged period now, not playing a single Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. Hazlewood's planned return to cricket during the ongoing IPL was also delayed, with the pacer only featuring in his first match after the halfway point of the tournament.
The experienced quick has had a minimal impact in the IPL, only featuring in three matches and bowling nine overs. He last featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 9 and flew back home early to Australia before their last match after reporting side soreness.
This has raised concerns about his fitness ahead of a blockbuster schedule of Test cricket for Australia, with Pat Cummins' side playing the World Test Championship final against India and five Ashes Tests against England in June and July. Hazlewood has been named in the squad for the World Test Championship final as well as the first two Ashes Tests.
In a major relief for the pacer, scans have revealed no damage and he has now returned to bowling as the Australian squad prepares to depart for the UK.
Cricket Australia are confident that Hazlewood will be fit and firing for the Test matches ahead, ready to aide skipper Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the pace trio.
A CA spokesperson giving an update on Hazlewood stated, as quoted by a media source, "Josh Hazlewood returned home from the IPL last weekend after experiencing minor side soreness after the completion of his most recent IPL match.
"After a brief and precautionary rest period, Hazlewood returned to high-intensity bowling last week and will continue to increase his bowling workloads in preparation for the WTC and Ashes series. Hazlewood is considered fit and available for the WTC and Ashes Series."
The World Test Championship between Australia and India will be played at The Oval in London between June 7-11, with Cummins' side immediately embarking on an Ashes campaign scheduled to be held between June 16 and July 31.
ICC
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
Hazlewood is fit now. Cummins had a long rest. So did Starc. Smith is playing county. Khawaja is having rest. Washed up Rohit/Kohli/Rahane will lay eggs there. Without Pant Indian Test batting is substandard formwise.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has used the latest episode of The ICC Review to reveal the Upstox Combined Test XI he would choose that consists of players from the two ICC World Test Championship finalists.
As the build-up to next month's World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval intensifies, Shastri faced the unenviable task of naming his best combined XI when asked by host Sanjana Ganesan.
Shastri admitted he found the task a difficult one due to the sheer amount of world-class players on both sides, but the India great stuck his neck out and settled on a final XI with four India stars and seven from Australia making the cut.
Shastri is a long-standing supporter of Rohit Sharma and said the India captain gets the nod as skipper over Australian counterpart Pat Cummins and wins a spot as one of the two openers as a result.
"I would give the captaincy to Rohit because he's much more experienced than Pat," Shastri declared.
"He's been around and he's captained sides for a long time.
"If Steve Smith was captain of Australia, then maybe it’s a different story, but since it's Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma, Rohit wins it.
"Plus, you know, as a captain, you're a certainty in the XI so he opens the batting."
The decision on who would partner Rohit at the top of the order is a tough one, according to Shastri, with the likes of Australian duo David Warner and Usman Khawaja and emerging India right-hander Shubman Gill all in the mix for the crucial position.
Only England star Joe Root scored more runs than Khawaja during the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle and Shastri said the Australian left-hander deserves to get the nod.
"It's a tight one between Usman Khawaja and Shubman Gill," Shastri admitted.
"Shubman is the rising young star and he's a terrific player, but Usman Khawaja, just by current form and the number of runs he's got over the last couple of years, I think he gets in there."
Shastri said it was an easy decision as to who bats at No.3, No.4 and No.5, with the No.1 ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and experienced duo Virat Kohli and Steve Smith the obvious choices to fill these vital spots.
"Number three is a no-brainer as Marnus (Labuschagne) has been outstanding in Test match cricket. He averages close to 60, so he gets in there straight away," Shastri said.
"Kohli at four for just what he's done over the years and Smith at five for what he's done over the years and the kind of quality they bring to the table."
Shastri is a massive fan of young Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, but thinks Ravindra Jadeja earns the spot to bat at No.6 due to his ability to act as a second spinning option.
"At No.6, I get in Jadeja, because I believe he is one of the best all-rounders in the world," Shastri noted.
"We know there's (England captain) Ben Stokes, but Ben has had problems with his fitness, so Jadeja comes in there and gives a lot of balance to that side."
Australia keeper Alex Carey wins the spot as wicket-keeper and to bat at No.7 ahead of India's KS Bharat, while Shastri admitted he found it difficult to leave out India veteran Ravichandran Ashwin and opt for Nathan Lyon as the front-line spinner in his XI.
"The reason why I picked Nathan Lyon ahead of Ashwin is because of Nathan's overseas record," Shastri said.
"Not just in Australia, but outside Australia and (Lyon is) probably stronger to bowl those overs in England if needed.
"So he comes in with Jadeja as the second spinner, with Jadeja more the all-rounder and Lyon the spinner."
Shastri said the decisions on the pace attack was relatively easy to make, with experienced left-armer Mitchell Starc providing the variety alongside a pair of in-form right-armers.
"(Pat) Cummins, of course, for me, he's a top-class operator and Mohammed Shami, he's like vintage and he's just getting better and better as we're seeing in this IPL. And stronger. So he comes in there," Shastri noted.
"And then it was a tough one between (Josh) Hazelwood, Starc and there's Cameron Green also there.
"But I preferred Jadeja because you get a better balance with two spinners, three fast bowlers, out and out fast bowlers and I would take Starc (to complement them) because of pace and variety being the left-armer.
"It's a hard choice (to settle on final XI) because Ashwin's world-class, you've got Hazelwood world-class there and you've got (Cheteshwar) Pujara there who could be threatening. So it's not easy."
Ravi Shastri combined India-Australia Test XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami
ICC
As the build-up to next month's World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval intensifies, Shastri faced the unenviable task of naming his best combined XI when asked by host Sanjana Ganesan.
Shastri admitted he found the task a difficult one due to the sheer amount of world-class players on both sides, but the India great stuck his neck out and settled on a final XI with four India stars and seven from Australia making the cut.
Shastri is a long-standing supporter of Rohit Sharma and said the India captain gets the nod as skipper over Australian counterpart Pat Cummins and wins a spot as one of the two openers as a result.
"I would give the captaincy to Rohit because he's much more experienced than Pat," Shastri declared.
"He's been around and he's captained sides for a long time.
"If Steve Smith was captain of Australia, then maybe it’s a different story, but since it's Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma, Rohit wins it.
"Plus, you know, as a captain, you're a certainty in the XI so he opens the batting."
The decision on who would partner Rohit at the top of the order is a tough one, according to Shastri, with the likes of Australian duo David Warner and Usman Khawaja and emerging India right-hander Shubman Gill all in the mix for the crucial position.
Only England star Joe Root scored more runs than Khawaja during the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle and Shastri said the Australian left-hander deserves to get the nod.
"It's a tight one between Usman Khawaja and Shubman Gill," Shastri admitted.
"Shubman is the rising young star and he's a terrific player, but Usman Khawaja, just by current form and the number of runs he's got over the last couple of years, I think he gets in there."
Shastri said it was an easy decision as to who bats at No.3, No.4 and No.5, with the No.1 ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and experienced duo Virat Kohli and Steve Smith the obvious choices to fill these vital spots.
"Number three is a no-brainer as Marnus (Labuschagne) has been outstanding in Test match cricket. He averages close to 60, so he gets in there straight away," Shastri said.
"Kohli at four for just what he's done over the years and Smith at five for what he's done over the years and the kind of quality they bring to the table."
Shastri is a massive fan of young Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, but thinks Ravindra Jadeja earns the spot to bat at No.6 due to his ability to act as a second spinning option.
"At No.6, I get in Jadeja, because I believe he is one of the best all-rounders in the world," Shastri noted.
"We know there's (England captain) Ben Stokes, but Ben has had problems with his fitness, so Jadeja comes in there and gives a lot of balance to that side."
Australia keeper Alex Carey wins the spot as wicket-keeper and to bat at No.7 ahead of India's KS Bharat, while Shastri admitted he found it difficult to leave out India veteran Ravichandran Ashwin and opt for Nathan Lyon as the front-line spinner in his XI.
"The reason why I picked Nathan Lyon ahead of Ashwin is because of Nathan's overseas record," Shastri said.
"Not just in Australia, but outside Australia and (Lyon is) probably stronger to bowl those overs in England if needed.
"So he comes in with Jadeja as the second spinner, with Jadeja more the all-rounder and Lyon the spinner."
Shastri said the decisions on the pace attack was relatively easy to make, with experienced left-armer Mitchell Starc providing the variety alongside a pair of in-form right-armers.
"(Pat) Cummins, of course, for me, he's a top-class operator and Mohammed Shami, he's like vintage and he's just getting better and better as we're seeing in this IPL. And stronger. So he comes in there," Shastri noted.
"And then it was a tough one between (Josh) Hazelwood, Starc and there's Cameron Green also there.
"But I preferred Jadeja because you get a better balance with two spinners, three fast bowlers, out and out fast bowlers and I would take Starc (to complement them) because of pace and variety being the left-armer.
"It's a hard choice (to settle on final XI) because Ashwin's world-class, you've got Hazelwood world-class there and you've got (Cheteshwar) Pujara there who could be threatening. So it's not easy."
Ravi Shastri combined India-Australia Test XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami
ICC
sam_ahm
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2012
- Runs
- 4,845
Considering the dead flat wickets Indian players played the IPL on, I'll not be surprised if they get rolled over at The Oval for something like 150.
The wickets in IPL were so flat that literally every game it was like the top 3 will never get out. Even players like Saha, Prabhsimran got hundreds because they were opening. Little known Vivrant Sharma got 60 odd in the only game he played for SRH. RCB got through 14 games with a decent run while only 3 batters were able to perform, because the pitches never required the middle order to come into play that often.
Compare that with Australia, Khawaja, Smith, Labuschagne, Head, Carey, Starc, Cummins, Lyon... All of them stayed away from IPL and will be fresh for this big test.
The wickets in IPL were so flat that literally every game it was like the top 3 will never get out. Even players like Saha, Prabhsimran got hundreds because they were opening. Little known Vivrant Sharma got 60 odd in the only game he played for SRH. RCB got through 14 games with a decent run while only 3 batters were able to perform, because the pitches never required the middle order to come into play that often.
Compare that with Australia, Khawaja, Smith, Labuschagne, Head, Carey, Starc, Cummins, Lyon... All of them stayed away from IPL and will be fresh for this big test.
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jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
The Oval will perfectly suit Australian FTBs who bats on and on and on.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2015
- Runs
- 15,745
Australia are heavy favourites. Indian players too obsessed with IPL to have the right preparation and mindset for this final.
India would be overwhelming favorites if Pant and Bumrah were there, but without them Australia are a bit more likely to win. But I don't think it will be anywhere near as one-sided as many here seem to think. Let's not forget that Australia have lost their last four test series against India.
sweep_shot
World Star
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2016
- Runs
- 52,326
Aussies are favorites to win the WTC. India aren't as strong as they were before.
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
I would take a draw at this point.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
The first batch of the Indian squad picked for the World Test Championship final comprising of players whose teams lost out in securing IPL playoff berths will take the early morning flight on Tuesday to the UK
Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj became free of IPL duties after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL exit on Sunday. They, together with Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and R Ashwin will be the first to reach the UK. These players will begin training early with the Rahul-Dravid-led support staff to get back into Test match mode for the big final to be played against Australia at The Oval, starting June 7.
Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat who suffered a left-shoulder injury during training in the IPL on April 30 is on the road to recovery. But he will be travelling later after completing rehab, after being declared fully fit. “Jaydev has begun bowling in the nets and we are hopeful that he will be ready in time,” a BCCI official said.
Yadav too is returning from a hamstring injury he suffered during the IPL. His last outing for Kolkata Knight Riders was on April 26. Delhi Capitals right-arm pacer Mukesh Kumar who was picked in the ODI squad against South Africa is travelling with the team as a backup. Kumar who plays Ranji Trophy for Bengal has played for the Rest of India.
Captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami and Ishan Kishan along with reserves Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be travelling to UK in batches as and when their respective team’s IPL campaign ends. Cheteshwar Pujara has been making the most of his county stint with Sussex and will probably be best prepared.
With the final to be played with the Dukes balls in English conditions, there’s a sharp contrast in the way the two bowling attacks are preparing. While Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc opted out of IPL to stay fresh for the WTC and the Ashes to follow, most of the Indian bowlers will come feasting on a diet of T20 cricket.
All the talk of the players bowling with the red ball in the nets during IPL was just that.
“With the amount of travel involved in this year’s IPL, rest and recovery was the most important,” a support staff member of one franchise said. “It wasn’t practically possible to exert the bowlers with increased workloads.”
Hindustan Times
Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj became free of IPL duties after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL exit on Sunday. They, together with Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and R Ashwin will be the first to reach the UK. These players will begin training early with the Rahul-Dravid-led support staff to get back into Test match mode for the big final to be played against Australia at The Oval, starting June 7.
Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat who suffered a left-shoulder injury during training in the IPL on April 30 is on the road to recovery. But he will be travelling later after completing rehab, after being declared fully fit. “Jaydev has begun bowling in the nets and we are hopeful that he will be ready in time,” a BCCI official said.
Yadav too is returning from a hamstring injury he suffered during the IPL. His last outing for Kolkata Knight Riders was on April 26. Delhi Capitals right-arm pacer Mukesh Kumar who was picked in the ODI squad against South Africa is travelling with the team as a backup. Kumar who plays Ranji Trophy for Bengal has played for the Rest of India.
Captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami and Ishan Kishan along with reserves Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be travelling to UK in batches as and when their respective team’s IPL campaign ends. Cheteshwar Pujara has been making the most of his county stint with Sussex and will probably be best prepared.
With the final to be played with the Dukes balls in English conditions, there’s a sharp contrast in the way the two bowling attacks are preparing. While Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc opted out of IPL to stay fresh for the WTC and the Ashes to follow, most of the Indian bowlers will come feasting on a diet of T20 cricket.
All the talk of the players bowling with the red ball in the nets during IPL was just that.
“With the amount of travel involved in this year’s IPL, rest and recovery was the most important,” a support staff member of one franchise said. “It wasn’t practically possible to exert the bowlers with increased workloads.”
Hindustan Times
JibranAnsari
Test Captain
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Runs
- 47,000
Going to be a mouthwatering contest , hopefully it's not one sided
https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/no-...his-combined-playing-xi-for-wtc-final-4057922
Ravi Shastri combined India-Australia Test XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami
I am delighted to see that Ravi bhai on occasions can speak the truth. Had it been Gavaskar then his XI would have had 12 Indians in a team of XI. The only change i would make to the above team is to have Travis Head instead of Rohit Sharma. While Travis doesn't have a great record in England but that's because he has become the player he has only in the last 3 years. Whereas Sharma has been really struggling since the last couple of years. I love the fact that Shastri has the guts to place Lyon over Ashwin, in my mind there's no doubt that on non-turning pitches Lyon is twice the bowler Ashwin is.
Ravi Shastri combined India-Australia Test XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami
I am delighted to see that Ravi bhai on occasions can speak the truth. Had it been Gavaskar then his XI would have had 12 Indians in a team of XI. The only change i would make to the above team is to have Travis Head instead of Rohit Sharma. While Travis doesn't have a great record in England but that's because he has become the player he has only in the last 3 years. Whereas Sharma has been really struggling since the last couple of years. I love the fact that Shastri has the guts to place Lyon over Ashwin, in my mind there's no doubt that on non-turning pitches Lyon is twice the bowler Ashwin is.
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Ravi Shastri believes India’s XI for the ICC World Test Championship final will be dictated by conditions in the lead-up to the first ball on June 7 at The Oval.
A side he knows well having also coached the group up until late 2021, Shastri has a history of success at the ground having guided India to victory at the fourth Test against England in the same year.
Looking ahead to India’s encounter with Australia, Shastri broke down India’s selection question decisions ahead of the World Test Championship final, speaking to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
The bowling attack
Rather than naming a certain bowling attack for the final, Shastri thinks India’s XI will be determined by two key factors; the fitness of the fast-bowlers and the London weather in the build-up to the match.
India have three spin options in their squad, with experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and No.1 ranked all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja joined in the 15-player squad by left-armer tweaker Axar Patel.
Shastri thinks the option is there for India to select Ashwin as the only specialist spinner and use Jadeja to bat at No.6 should the pitch at The Oval look like it will take some spin.
“If the track is hard and dry, you would want two spinners to play for sure,” Shastri said.
“I think it goes a lot with the weather in England. I believe it's sunny now at the moment, but you know, English weather, how it can change in the month of June.
“So there's a very good chance India will go with two spinners, two fast bowlers and an all-rounder. That will be the combination. And then there'll be five batsmen and the wicket-keeper, so six batsmen.
“So if all conditions stay normal at The Oval, then this would be my combination, but you've got to have the quality to be able to put those guys out in the park.”
Which quick will step up in Bumrah’s absence?
Despite numerous injuries hurting their lead-up, India boast fast-bowling depth, and could yet fit three fast bowlers into the side.
Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami could be joined by Shardul Thakur, also known to bring support on the batting side of things, a strong trio even if Umesh Yadav and left-armer Jaydev Unadkat join Jasprit Bumrah as injury absentees.
Shastri acknowledges the void left by Bumrah hurts India’s chances, though he has faith in the group available for the final, even if it means picking another spinner to accommodate for the lack of quicks.
“India did very well in England last time round because you had Bumrah, you had Shami, you had Shardul Thakur, and you had Mohammed Siraj,” Shastri recalled.
“So you had four fast bowlers. One being an all-rounder there, Shardul.
“That combination is a very good combination in England. Especially from India's point of view. It allows someone like Rohit Sharma to control the game far better. At times in England, you need to slow it down as well. And suddenly it can get overcast.
“You've got horses for courses, you've got all bases covered. But then if the quality is not good in your fast-bowling attack. If you think the guys are older, they are not as quick as they used to be, and the form is a little doubtful, then you play that second spinner because Ashwin is quality, as is Jadeja.”
Batting stocks depleted, though experience is on hand
On the batting side, India’s hand has been forced also through injuries, though Shastri has stressed the need of application for the chosen top six with the bat.
Missing KL Rahul through injury, the side will now likely deploy Shubman Gill to open with Rohit Sharma. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will walk out at No.3 and No.4 respectively, while the door has opened for Ajinkya Rahane to make a return to a No.5 spot.
Shastri is encouraged by the 34-year-old’s form, not discounting the rhythm found in a different format during the IPL.
“The way he's timed the ball, the way he's looking at T20 from a different perspective. He's not looking at the number of runs, he's looking at the number of balls he's playing as against that. What is the strike rate with those number of balls he's played, which is good and which augurs well,” Shastri said of Rahane.
“It just goes to show (what happens) when you go through the grind, you go back to domestic cricket.
“He's earned his place in that World Test Championship side. Now you'll have to see closer to the event what the final XI will be.”
Focused on the players available for India’s tilt at the World Test Championship mace, Shastri stressed the need for batting focus, citing the mentality of the 2021 touring party.
“The application is the key in English conditions, as opposed to Australia, India, you need to apply yourself everywhere,” he said.
“That opening partnership between Rahul and Rohit Sharma was fabulous. You know, the discipline, the patience that is needed to counter English conditions is the need of the hour.
“In England, in particular, the leaving game becomes very important.”
A look to the other side
Shastri expects no surprises looking at Australia’s options at selection come the final, especially on the bowling side.
With Josh Hazlewood priming for the one-off Test after recovering from Achilles trouble, and expected to line up with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Shastri believes the Australian attack at this point almost picks itself.
“As far as Australia is concerned, it's a no-brainer,” Shastri said.
“They'll go with one spinner (Nathan Lyon), Cameron Green the all-rounder, (and) three fast bowlers.”
Ravi Shastri's predicted India XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
A side he knows well having also coached the group up until late 2021, Shastri has a history of success at the ground having guided India to victory at the fourth Test against England in the same year.
Looking ahead to India’s encounter with Australia, Shastri broke down India’s selection question decisions ahead of the World Test Championship final, speaking to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.
The bowling attack
Rather than naming a certain bowling attack for the final, Shastri thinks India’s XI will be determined by two key factors; the fitness of the fast-bowlers and the London weather in the build-up to the match.
India have three spin options in their squad, with experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and No.1 ranked all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja joined in the 15-player squad by left-armer tweaker Axar Patel.
Shastri thinks the option is there for India to select Ashwin as the only specialist spinner and use Jadeja to bat at No.6 should the pitch at The Oval look like it will take some spin.
“If the track is hard and dry, you would want two spinners to play for sure,” Shastri said.
“I think it goes a lot with the weather in England. I believe it's sunny now at the moment, but you know, English weather, how it can change in the month of June.
“So there's a very good chance India will go with two spinners, two fast bowlers and an all-rounder. That will be the combination. And then there'll be five batsmen and the wicket-keeper, so six batsmen.
“So if all conditions stay normal at The Oval, then this would be my combination, but you've got to have the quality to be able to put those guys out in the park.”
Which quick will step up in Bumrah’s absence?
Despite numerous injuries hurting their lead-up, India boast fast-bowling depth, and could yet fit three fast bowlers into the side.
Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami could be joined by Shardul Thakur, also known to bring support on the batting side of things, a strong trio even if Umesh Yadav and left-armer Jaydev Unadkat join Jasprit Bumrah as injury absentees.
Shastri acknowledges the void left by Bumrah hurts India’s chances, though he has faith in the group available for the final, even if it means picking another spinner to accommodate for the lack of quicks.
“India did very well in England last time round because you had Bumrah, you had Shami, you had Shardul Thakur, and you had Mohammed Siraj,” Shastri recalled.
“So you had four fast bowlers. One being an all-rounder there, Shardul.
“That combination is a very good combination in England. Especially from India's point of view. It allows someone like Rohit Sharma to control the game far better. At times in England, you need to slow it down as well. And suddenly it can get overcast.
“You've got horses for courses, you've got all bases covered. But then if the quality is not good in your fast-bowling attack. If you think the guys are older, they are not as quick as they used to be, and the form is a little doubtful, then you play that second spinner because Ashwin is quality, as is Jadeja.”
Batting stocks depleted, though experience is on hand
On the batting side, India’s hand has been forced also through injuries, though Shastri has stressed the need of application for the chosen top six with the bat.
Missing KL Rahul through injury, the side will now likely deploy Shubman Gill to open with Rohit Sharma. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will walk out at No.3 and No.4 respectively, while the door has opened for Ajinkya Rahane to make a return to a No.5 spot.
Shastri is encouraged by the 34-year-old’s form, not discounting the rhythm found in a different format during the IPL.
“The way he's timed the ball, the way he's looking at T20 from a different perspective. He's not looking at the number of runs, he's looking at the number of balls he's playing as against that. What is the strike rate with those number of balls he's played, which is good and which augurs well,” Shastri said of Rahane.
“It just goes to show (what happens) when you go through the grind, you go back to domestic cricket.
“He's earned his place in that World Test Championship side. Now you'll have to see closer to the event what the final XI will be.”
Focused on the players available for India’s tilt at the World Test Championship mace, Shastri stressed the need for batting focus, citing the mentality of the 2021 touring party.
“The application is the key in English conditions, as opposed to Australia, India, you need to apply yourself everywhere,” he said.
“That opening partnership between Rahul and Rohit Sharma was fabulous. You know, the discipline, the patience that is needed to counter English conditions is the need of the hour.
“In England, in particular, the leaving game becomes very important.”
A look to the other side
Shastri expects no surprises looking at Australia’s options at selection come the final, especially on the bowling side.
With Josh Hazlewood priming for the one-off Test after recovering from Achilles trouble, and expected to line up with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Shastri believes the Australian attack at this point almost picks itself.
“As far as Australia is concerned, it's a no-brainer,” Shastri said.
“They'll go with one spinner (Nathan Lyon), Cameron Green the all-rounder, (and) three fast bowlers.”
Ravi Shastri's predicted India XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Last edited:
Asif321
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What happens in case of draw ?
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Skipper Rohit Sharma praised the character shown by individuals in India's journey to the ICC World Test Championship 2023 final.
India will take Australia on at The Oval in the final of the 2021-2023 cycle of the World Test Championship next month. Rohit Sharma, in a video shared by BCCI, reflected on the Test team's journey while a few other senior members also shared their views.
"After the World Test Championship [2021 Final] in Southampton, we quickly had to regroup and get ready for the next cycle," Rohit says in the video released by BCCI.
"I thought in that cycle we played some really, really tough cricket. We were challenged a lot of times and I thought to come out of that was obviously going to take a lot of character from not just a few individuals, but everyone."
India had lost the WTC final in 2021 to New Zealand but went on to play England in a tough away fixture two months later, winning two of the four Tests before the series was postponed to later.
The early head start proved to be crucial as India cruised to the final on the back of strong performances home and away in the two-year cycle.
"Look, it's a cycle of two years and we play a lot of Test matches during that period. Lot of players have played in that cycle," Rohit said.
"Different individuals have stepped up, putting the performances that we were looking for from the individual."
Two of India's most prolific batters in the cycle — Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer — won't be playing in the final with the latter down with injury and the wicketkeeper-batter still recovering from a car accident earlier in the year.
Pant and Iyer were the only two Indian batters other than the skipper himself to average over 40 in the cycle when making more than 500 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah, who took 45 wickets across 10 Tests in the cycle and led India's bowling charts in the Test series in England, where the final will be played, is also out of action from the marquee Test match that will decide the title winners.
Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara highlighted that it was pertinent that India recognised the contributions of these absentees in their journey to the final.
"There have been many players who have contributed to the team. Some of them are not part of this squad currently, but it's important that we recognise all the players that have contributed in this cycle," Pujara said.
"It's been a great team effort...the team management, captain, everyone has been looking forward to this moment where we qualify for the WTC finals and the guys are really excited to play at The Oval. We've got some good memories playing against England in UK. Overall, if I look at the last couple of years, it's been a very good journey for the Indian Test team."
Since the beginning of the World Test Championship, India have been one of the most successful Test sides, which is also reflected in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Team Rankings, where India are the No.1 side. They have won 22 of the 36 Test matches in the World Test Championship across both cycles and made it to the finals twice.
According to leading spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the turnaround for the Indian Test team began in 2014 after MS Dhoni's retirement.
"The turnaround definitely started in 2014. MS Dhoni had just retired and we had all played for a few Tests, probably 2013 Tests, pretty early on and we had to start a journey of our own," Ashwin said.
"Never easy without the seniors, but I can comfortably say that all the efforts we have put in have come really to fruition over the last two cycles of WTC.
"We are qualifying for the second time on the trot [to the WTC finals]. It is no mean feat. We would have loved to win the series in India 3-1 or 3-0 or whatever it is but Australia played some good cricket. We weren't able to do that. However, for the consistent cricket we have played, we've been rewarded with this final."
India's journey in the second cycle of the WTC has been nothing short of phenomenal. They won 10 of the 18 Tests in the cycle, recording series victories in four of the six series they played.
Rohit, however, realises that the challenge is far from over with a final against Australia at The Oval to bring home the title.
"To be standing here knowing that we've qualified for the finals feels really, really great. The boys are really happy about it because all that effort that we put in for the last two years finally has come to the fore. Obviously, the job is not done. We have to go out there and get the best result for us in the final."
ICC
India will take Australia on at The Oval in the final of the 2021-2023 cycle of the World Test Championship next month. Rohit Sharma, in a video shared by BCCI, reflected on the Test team's journey while a few other senior members also shared their views.
"After the World Test Championship [2021 Final] in Southampton, we quickly had to regroup and get ready for the next cycle," Rohit says in the video released by BCCI.
"I thought in that cycle we played some really, really tough cricket. We were challenged a lot of times and I thought to come out of that was obviously going to take a lot of character from not just a few individuals, but everyone."
India had lost the WTC final in 2021 to New Zealand but went on to play England in a tough away fixture two months later, winning two of the four Tests before the series was postponed to later.
The early head start proved to be crucial as India cruised to the final on the back of strong performances home and away in the two-year cycle.
"Look, it's a cycle of two years and we play a lot of Test matches during that period. Lot of players have played in that cycle," Rohit said.
"Different individuals have stepped up, putting the performances that we were looking for from the individual."
Two of India's most prolific batters in the cycle — Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer — won't be playing in the final with the latter down with injury and the wicketkeeper-batter still recovering from a car accident earlier in the year.
Pant and Iyer were the only two Indian batters other than the skipper himself to average over 40 in the cycle when making more than 500 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah, who took 45 wickets across 10 Tests in the cycle and led India's bowling charts in the Test series in England, where the final will be played, is also out of action from the marquee Test match that will decide the title winners.
Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara highlighted that it was pertinent that India recognised the contributions of these absentees in their journey to the final.
"There have been many players who have contributed to the team. Some of them are not part of this squad currently, but it's important that we recognise all the players that have contributed in this cycle," Pujara said.
"It's been a great team effort...the team management, captain, everyone has been looking forward to this moment where we qualify for the WTC finals and the guys are really excited to play at The Oval. We've got some good memories playing against England in UK. Overall, if I look at the last couple of years, it's been a very good journey for the Indian Test team."
Since the beginning of the World Test Championship, India have been one of the most successful Test sides, which is also reflected in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Team Rankings, where India are the No.1 side. They have won 22 of the 36 Test matches in the World Test Championship across both cycles and made it to the finals twice.
According to leading spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the turnaround for the Indian Test team began in 2014 after MS Dhoni's retirement.
"The turnaround definitely started in 2014. MS Dhoni had just retired and we had all played for a few Tests, probably 2013 Tests, pretty early on and we had to start a journey of our own," Ashwin said.
"Never easy without the seniors, but I can comfortably say that all the efforts we have put in have come really to fruition over the last two cycles of WTC.
"We are qualifying for the second time on the trot [to the WTC finals]. It is no mean feat. We would have loved to win the series in India 3-1 or 3-0 or whatever it is but Australia played some good cricket. We weren't able to do that. However, for the consistent cricket we have played, we've been rewarded with this final."
India's journey in the second cycle of the WTC has been nothing short of phenomenal. They won 10 of the 18 Tests in the cycle, recording series victories in four of the six series they played.
Rohit, however, realises that the challenge is far from over with a final against Australia at The Oval to bring home the title.
"To be standing here knowing that we've qualified for the finals feels really, really great. The boys are really happy about it because all that effort that we put in for the last two years finally has come to the fore. Obviously, the job is not done. We have to go out there and get the best result for us in the final."
ICC
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Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes uncapped youngster Ishan Kishan remains in the mix to challenge KS Bharat and take the crucial role of wicket-keeper for next month's ICC World Test Championship final against Australia, but experienced gloveman Dinesh Karthik thinks the choice is clear cut.
Injuries to key players, including first-choice wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and back-up KL Rahul, has put the Indian setup in quite the dilemma ahead of the all-important one-off Test against Australia that commences at The Oval on June 7.
Bharat remains the incumbent after he was chosen to don the gloves for the recent Border-Gavaskar Test series and the 29-year-old gave a very good account of himself as wicket-keeper but failed to show his full prowess with the bat, as he managed just 101 runs from six innings in difficult conditions.
Kishan warmed the benches during the four-match Test series against Australia and was only drafted into the World Test Championship squad after Rahul picked up an injury during the IPL and was ruled out of the one-off affair.
Shastri was asked which wicket-keeper was in the box seat to take the gloves against the Aussies by host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review and the India legend said the choice of keeper ultimately rested on the conditions the south London venue will have on offer.
“See, that's another tight one (decision). Now, if two spinners are playing, then you would want Bharat to play,” Shastri said.
“You have to see who's a better keeper. Is it Bharat or Ishan Kishan? Now, the fact that Bharat was given a run against Australia, where he played all the Test matches, I think he would be the obvious choice to go with.”
Though 29-year-old Bharat has played only four Test matches so far, he has the experience of 90 first-class games in the longer format unlike Kishan, who is yet to make his debut in Tests and has only 48 first-class appearances behind him.
While Bharat has shown to be the better gloveman of the two thus far, the less experienced Kishan is clearly a more accomplished batter and already has an ODI double-century to his name following his superb innings of 210 against Bangladesh in Chattogram at the end of last year.
The southpaw also lends a bit of left-handed diversity in an otherwise right-hand dominant India batting line-up and Shastri said there is not much between the pair.
“There's not much there. It's not that one guy is far better than the other,” Shastri added.
"Batting will also come into play, whether you want Ishan Kishan's batting to shore up the middle order. That's another thing you'll take into perspective.
“Are you going to go with four fast bowlers? Then there's not much spin and you just need someone decent behind the stumps to do the job.
“So that you would leave to team management. Just before the game, they would weigh in just these little things that I've just said, and obviously look at current form."
Karthik, however, thinks the selection is a simple one, with the veteran wicket-keeper - who has completed playing in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore - choosing the experience of Bharat for the big occasion.
"I think Bharat will be a pretty straightforward choice because playing Ishan Kishan in his debut and a Test match straight in the World Test Championship Final is asking a bit too much,” Karthik said.
"And the fact that KS Bharat probably tips the scale in favour of himself just a little bit with this keeping edge that he has got. So I do think they will go in with KS Bharat for the final."
ICC
Injuries to key players, including first-choice wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and back-up KL Rahul, has put the Indian setup in quite the dilemma ahead of the all-important one-off Test against Australia that commences at The Oval on June 7.
Bharat remains the incumbent after he was chosen to don the gloves for the recent Border-Gavaskar Test series and the 29-year-old gave a very good account of himself as wicket-keeper but failed to show his full prowess with the bat, as he managed just 101 runs from six innings in difficult conditions.
Kishan warmed the benches during the four-match Test series against Australia and was only drafted into the World Test Championship squad after Rahul picked up an injury during the IPL and was ruled out of the one-off affair.
Shastri was asked which wicket-keeper was in the box seat to take the gloves against the Aussies by host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review and the India legend said the choice of keeper ultimately rested on the conditions the south London venue will have on offer.
“See, that's another tight one (decision). Now, if two spinners are playing, then you would want Bharat to play,” Shastri said.
“You have to see who's a better keeper. Is it Bharat or Ishan Kishan? Now, the fact that Bharat was given a run against Australia, where he played all the Test matches, I think he would be the obvious choice to go with.”
Though 29-year-old Bharat has played only four Test matches so far, he has the experience of 90 first-class games in the longer format unlike Kishan, who is yet to make his debut in Tests and has only 48 first-class appearances behind him.
While Bharat has shown to be the better gloveman of the two thus far, the less experienced Kishan is clearly a more accomplished batter and already has an ODI double-century to his name following his superb innings of 210 against Bangladesh in Chattogram at the end of last year.
The southpaw also lends a bit of left-handed diversity in an otherwise right-hand dominant India batting line-up and Shastri said there is not much between the pair.
“There's not much there. It's not that one guy is far better than the other,” Shastri added.
"Batting will also come into play, whether you want Ishan Kishan's batting to shore up the middle order. That's another thing you'll take into perspective.
“Are you going to go with four fast bowlers? Then there's not much spin and you just need someone decent behind the stumps to do the job.
“So that you would leave to team management. Just before the game, they would weigh in just these little things that I've just said, and obviously look at current form."
Karthik, however, thinks the selection is a simple one, with the veteran wicket-keeper - who has completed playing in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore - choosing the experience of Bharat for the big occasion.
"I think Bharat will be a pretty straightforward choice because playing Ishan Kishan in his debut and a Test match straight in the World Test Championship Final is asking a bit too much,” Karthik said.
"And the fact that KS Bharat probably tips the scale in favour of himself just a little bit with this keeping edge that he has got. So I do think they will go in with KS Bharat for the final."
ICC
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unveiling <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a>'s new training kit ���� <br><br>Also, kickstarting our preparations for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTCFinal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTCFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/iULctV8zL6">pic.twitter.com/iULctV8zL6</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1661702012352724998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Australia-India ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 will have a major incentive for both teams as other than the crowning glory in the longest format of the game, the winners will also collect $1.6 million as the winners’ prize money. The losing finalists will pocket $800,000.
The championship decider will be played at The Oval, London from 7 to 11 June with 12 June the reserve day.
The tournament prize money is the same as that for the inaugural edition of the championship – ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 – a total purse of $3.8 million.
The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side were rewarded with $1.6 million besides the glittering Mace in Southampton two years ago courtesy an eight-wicket win over India in the six-day final.
All nine ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 participants will get a share in the $3.8 million purse. South Africa have earned $450,000 by finishing third in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 standings.
England who made a late resurgence in the two-year cycle with an aggressive playing style, ended up fourth on the table – a reward of $350,000.
Sri Lanka, who were in the running for a place in the final before their series defeat in New Zealand, dropped down to the fifth spot. Their prize money share is $200,000.
Sixth-placed New Zealand, seventh-placed Pakistan, eighth-placed West Indies and ninth-placed Bangladesh will be given $100,000 each.
ICC
The championship decider will be played at The Oval, London from 7 to 11 June with 12 June the reserve day.
The tournament prize money is the same as that for the inaugural edition of the championship – ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 – a total purse of $3.8 million.
The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand side were rewarded with $1.6 million besides the glittering Mace in Southampton two years ago courtesy an eight-wicket win over India in the six-day final.
All nine ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 participants will get a share in the $3.8 million purse. South Africa have earned $450,000 by finishing third in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 standings.
England who made a late resurgence in the two-year cycle with an aggressive playing style, ended up fourth on the table – a reward of $350,000.
Sri Lanka, who were in the running for a place in the final before their series defeat in New Zealand, dropped down to the fifth spot. Their prize money share is $200,000.
Sixth-placed New Zealand, seventh-placed Pakistan, eighth-placed West Indies and ninth-placed Bangladesh will be given $100,000 each.
ICC
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Ricky Ponting has backed the addition of Michael Neser to Australia’s squad for the ICC World Test Championship final but would turn to another pacer in the decider against India.
Australia great Ponting expects late-blooming quick Scott Boland to be named in the starting XI for the ICC World Test Championship final that begins on June 7 at the Oval, should Josh Hazlewood not be fit.
The 34-year-old Boland has taken 28 wickets in seven Tests since a stunning debut against England at the MCG in 2021 and now looms as a key weapon for Australia in the WTC final against India.
While Boland is yet to play a Test in England conditions and went wicketless in his only five-day clash with India in Nagpur, the right-arm pacer is in the running to be selected for the WTC final with reports Josh Hazlewood may not be available.
All-rounder Neser looms as another fast-bowling option for Australia but will firstly need to be added to their 15-player WTC squad when it is confirmed by Sunday 28 May.
“Boland's record when he's played over the last 12 months has been absolutely outstanding,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“He's one that would really, potentially thrive in these English conditions.
“We’ve seen what he's been able to do in Australia when there has been a bit of assistance off the wicket there and with the ball. So I think he'll get the nod ahead of Neser.”
The 33-year-old Neser has pressed his claims for a spot in the WTC final squad during an impressive stint in the County Championship that has produced 19 wickets and 311 runs in five matches.
Neser has played only two Tests for Australia - in 2021 and 2022, both at the Adelaide Oval - but is a chance for a late call up to the WTC final squad as Hazlewood (side) and Marsh (adductor) return from injury.
“He will be a terrific bowler in English conditions. We have already seen that in County cricket,” Ponting said.
“He's perfectly suited to those conditions. He was probably a little bit unlucky not to be named in this squad right from the start, and certainly even in the Ashes squad, right from the start, just with the conditions.
“Neser has just come off some wickets. He got a very good hundred as well in the second innings of that last County game that they played.
“He's one of those no fuss sort of guys that is a very skillful player, and the skill-set that he has is actually very well suited to England.”
Ponting believes Australia will otherwise turn to the line-up that has served them so well in recent times and propelled the side to the top of the WTC standings.
Australia finished the 2021-23 WTC cycle with 152 points from 19 Tests for 66.67% of their possible points, while India were next best with 127 points from 18 Tests and 58.8%.
Hazlewood has been a mainstay of Australia’s bowling attack since his debut in 2014 and taken 222 wickets in 59 Tests, but has only played four times in the current WTC cycle.
“Now that I know that Hazlewood’s probably not there, I think it probably pretty much picks itself,” Ponting said on the Australia XI.
“I think Warner will play. I'm listening to everything that's been spoken about the last few months, that Warner will play along with Khawaja, opening the batting.
“Marnus [Labuschagne] three, [Steve] Smith four, [Travis] Head five, [Cameron] Green six, [Alex] Carey seven, [Mitchell] Starc eight, [Pat] Cummins nine, [Nathan] Lyon 10.
“Scott Boland will be the guy that will come in in Hazelwood's place.”
Ponting believes the Australia battling line-up is settled and coach Andrew McDonald this week backed veteran opener David Warner to make his mark in the WTC final and the Ashes series that will follow.
“There has only really been one batting question mark in the last 12 months, and that has been the opening spot with David Warner and how long he's going to continue to play,” Ponting said.
“With Travis Head doing what he's done lately in that middle order, and Cameron Green really emerging on the scene in the last 12 months as well, I think the batting side of things pretty much picks itself.”
Ricky Ponting’s predicted Australia XI (if Hazlewood is unfit)
Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
ICC
Australia great Ponting expects late-blooming quick Scott Boland to be named in the starting XI for the ICC World Test Championship final that begins on June 7 at the Oval, should Josh Hazlewood not be fit.
The 34-year-old Boland has taken 28 wickets in seven Tests since a stunning debut against England at the MCG in 2021 and now looms as a key weapon for Australia in the WTC final against India.
While Boland is yet to play a Test in England conditions and went wicketless in his only five-day clash with India in Nagpur, the right-arm pacer is in the running to be selected for the WTC final with reports Josh Hazlewood may not be available.
All-rounder Neser looms as another fast-bowling option for Australia but will firstly need to be added to their 15-player WTC squad when it is confirmed by Sunday 28 May.
“Boland's record when he's played over the last 12 months has been absolutely outstanding,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“He's one that would really, potentially thrive in these English conditions.
“We’ve seen what he's been able to do in Australia when there has been a bit of assistance off the wicket there and with the ball. So I think he'll get the nod ahead of Neser.”
The 33-year-old Neser has pressed his claims for a spot in the WTC final squad during an impressive stint in the County Championship that has produced 19 wickets and 311 runs in five matches.
Neser has played only two Tests for Australia - in 2021 and 2022, both at the Adelaide Oval - but is a chance for a late call up to the WTC final squad as Hazlewood (side) and Marsh (adductor) return from injury.
“He will be a terrific bowler in English conditions. We have already seen that in County cricket,” Ponting said.
“He's perfectly suited to those conditions. He was probably a little bit unlucky not to be named in this squad right from the start, and certainly even in the Ashes squad, right from the start, just with the conditions.
“Neser has just come off some wickets. He got a very good hundred as well in the second innings of that last County game that they played.
“He's one of those no fuss sort of guys that is a very skillful player, and the skill-set that he has is actually very well suited to England.”
Ponting believes Australia will otherwise turn to the line-up that has served them so well in recent times and propelled the side to the top of the WTC standings.
Australia finished the 2021-23 WTC cycle with 152 points from 19 Tests for 66.67% of their possible points, while India were next best with 127 points from 18 Tests and 58.8%.
Hazlewood has been a mainstay of Australia’s bowling attack since his debut in 2014 and taken 222 wickets in 59 Tests, but has only played four times in the current WTC cycle.
“Now that I know that Hazlewood’s probably not there, I think it probably pretty much picks itself,” Ponting said on the Australia XI.
“I think Warner will play. I'm listening to everything that's been spoken about the last few months, that Warner will play along with Khawaja, opening the batting.
“Marnus [Labuschagne] three, [Steve] Smith four, [Travis] Head five, [Cameron] Green six, [Alex] Carey seven, [Mitchell] Starc eight, [Pat] Cummins nine, [Nathan] Lyon 10.
“Scott Boland will be the guy that will come in in Hazelwood's place.”
Ponting believes the Australia battling line-up is settled and coach Andrew McDonald this week backed veteran opener David Warner to make his mark in the WTC final and the Ashes series that will follow.
“There has only really been one batting question mark in the last 12 months, and that has been the opening spot with David Warner and how long he's going to continue to play,” Ponting said.
“With Travis Head doing what he's done lately in that middle order, and Cameron Green really emerging on the scene in the last 12 months as well, I think the batting side of things pretty much picks itself.”
Ricky Ponting’s predicted Australia XI (if Hazlewood is unfit)
Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
ICC
CrIc_Mystique
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Runs
- 4,593
Aus are gonna smash us by lunch on 3rd day.
Our over hyped IPl stars are going to rock up on the coming monday-tuesday-wednesday fresh off 35-40 deg indian summer and modelling for freakin paan masalas, gambling sites, fizzy sodas and other products that even their khandaaan are never going to use, into early summer england when the ball swings big and their IPL hit blink and giggle technicque and mindset is challenged.
To just make this a contest and this goes onto the 4 days, hopefully we select someone like umesh whose pace can push them ausssies onto the back foot.
Else if they select Jaydev legend wasim reid vaas davidson unadkat, it will one useless 130 kmph trundler after another on which several Aussies who are currently plying the County circuit read : smith, labus, harris, neser et all who are are in tune with the eng conditions will feast and gorge playing on auto pilot with their eyes shut
We will be toasted on ice.
I dont see our overhyped bats with the exception of che pu lasting and winning sessions for us.
End of the day, the IPL is a necessary evil. But it is also An elongated elephantine never ending saas bahu fufi chachi over hyped drama that is about 45 matches, 35 days and 3 teams too long that is endangering the game we love and cherish and defo not gonna helping us win this WTC finals.
The heathrow immigration officers entry stamp on our models turned cricketer's passports would not even be dry by the time when they face the music of cummins, starc, boland and co.
No pracitice games, no red ball cricket - Thanks BCCI - U rock...that is you guys are rock bottom!
& Lastly, we have no LH batsmen in the top order, its just a team of complete right handers - i.e ipl duds!
We have no succession planning when ishant, ash, jads, vk, che pu , jinks, shami, saha, etc go/retire very soon and our over confidence is going to cost us heaps.
But then when you have a cric board who priotizes top $$ over producing top quality cricketers, and a media and public who are fixated on IPL and MSD's entry into the stadium and 1000's of other useless nuances what can you expect?
... From a very disgruntled indian cricket fan who says the BCCI does not represent million of rational thinking indians...
Am happy to be proven wrong...Go India - WTC 2023 !
Our over hyped IPl stars are going to rock up on the coming monday-tuesday-wednesday fresh off 35-40 deg indian summer and modelling for freakin paan masalas, gambling sites, fizzy sodas and other products that even their khandaaan are never going to use, into early summer england when the ball swings big and their IPL hit blink and giggle technicque and mindset is challenged.
To just make this a contest and this goes onto the 4 days, hopefully we select someone like umesh whose pace can push them ausssies onto the back foot.
Else if they select Jaydev legend wasim reid vaas davidson unadkat, it will one useless 130 kmph trundler after another on which several Aussies who are currently plying the County circuit read : smith, labus, harris, neser et all who are are in tune with the eng conditions will feast and gorge playing on auto pilot with their eyes shut
We will be toasted on ice.
I dont see our overhyped bats with the exception of che pu lasting and winning sessions for us.
End of the day, the IPL is a necessary evil. But it is also An elongated elephantine never ending saas bahu fufi chachi over hyped drama that is about 45 matches, 35 days and 3 teams too long that is endangering the game we love and cherish and defo not gonna helping us win this WTC finals.
The heathrow immigration officers entry stamp on our models turned cricketer's passports would not even be dry by the time when they face the music of cummins, starc, boland and co.
No pracitice games, no red ball cricket - Thanks BCCI - U rock...that is you guys are rock bottom!
& Lastly, we have no LH batsmen in the top order, its just a team of complete right handers - i.e ipl duds!
We have no succession planning when ishant, ash, jads, vk, che pu , jinks, shami, saha, etc go/retire very soon and our over confidence is going to cost us heaps.
But then when you have a cric board who priotizes top $$ over producing top quality cricketers, and a media and public who are fixated on IPL and MSD's entry into the stadium and 1000's of other useless nuances what can you expect?
... From a very disgruntled indian cricket fan who says the BCCI does not represent million of rational thinking indians...
Am happy to be proven wrong...Go India - WTC 2023 !
Mesozoic
T20I Debutant
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sam_ahm
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2012
- Runs
- 4,845
It's a good post. One of that of a genuine Indian cricket fan who doesn't blindly say "yes" to whatever the BCCI does.
I love ICT, but I seriously hate BCCI. That's how I've been for years now.
I don't even have a problem with the IPL as long as it is short and competitive. When I say competitive I mean good quality and balanced wickets. The IPL this year has been one of the most boring I've seen... Literally boring, just keep watching the top 3 batters in the line up pile on runs, match after match after match... There was nothing else in it except for some games at Lucknow and Chennai.
With this preparation, good luck playing the WTC finals.
Justcrazy
ATG
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- Dec 6, 2010
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- 109,797
Let the game be played first , too early to write off India completely
CrIc_Mystique
First Class Captain
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- Apr 18, 2019
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- 4,593
Dhanyavaad Bro!. BCCI take us for granted especially the paying spectator, imagine sitting in 40 deg in uncovered stands. One thinks where does the Gadzillions earnt every year by the BCCI go? Where is the return on investments?
CrIc_Mystique
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Runs
- 4,593
Thanks bro - heartening! I agree IPL has its +ves , gives exposure to youngsters for handling pressue situations etc, throws up the occasional talent. But in the end its one continous blur of paint spill inspired uniforms slugging day in and out. For eg -I recall with affection and wonder -the amazing six Washi Sunder hit off starc - Gabba test 2021. In my childhood, on VCR video tape i had seen a similar shot hit by Gordon greenidge 1984 - Lords test. But for me IPL is so irrelevant, I dont even know what team Washi Sundar plays for ....what they do in the IPL is forgotten half an hour after the match.
And indian wickets do not make for good entertaining cricket - our test wickets are a pathetic excuses.
Just hope for a miracle and our guys get the right results come june 7 -11
!jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
Jet lag, format change, exhaustion. This crazy thing keeps happening every year. THey play IPL. THen they play an important Test and lose it.
docteurmanish
Tape Ball Regular
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Runs
- 389
Two ways of understanding the situation -
Blame ipl or be pragmatic
Ipl is a necessary evil . Pre ipl era , we were barely competitive abroad . Ipl seems to have ushered few positives u can’t overlook -
- Tushar , mohsin etc bowlers getting trained with the best . Bumrah got fast tracked into national team .. bowling talent is unearthed faster in ipl
- players are confident , financially secure . An azar situation likely will not occur . People making good money
- india has reached finals second time . Cheers . Shami , siraj , ash and jadeja coupled with Unmesh Shadul are good enough to build pressure and get wickets .
When I look at the squad , the batsmen are pretty much the ones playing last 5 years except vihari . Pant not being there with bumrah has been our misfortune . Still a decent team .
Wtc final champions will likely be aussie given lack of pant . But who knows - a bharat or a kishan might just surprise u .
If u were a bcci official , what else would u do ? Scheduling versus finances versus injuries . Not easy to please everybody
The only critique of bcci I have is the prima donna culture . Kohli was rightly shown the door though two years too late .
I would say be happy with ipl and wtc finals . Let’s hope that bcci does better selections for odi and t20 wc . They don’t seem to understand t20 and odi well . Rohit is now trying to play correct t20 and hopefully he will get us one if not two trophies in next two years .
Don’t sweat over cricket too much . It’s just a game .
Bharat, Kishaan or Sky won't surprise even if they get chance to be honest. They are limited players in Test cricket. Bharat is a pretty bad keeper for test standards and his batting has been patchy. The lesser said about Kisaan and Sky on long format the better given their style and temperament. Then they have got Rohit who has stopped playing for more than a year but his place is reserved till ODI WC. KL Rahul who almost never turns up when the going gets tough. Rahane who has been retired after an overall average career notwithstanding the promise and Pujara who usually fails in English conditions. People like Eswaran has been toiling and performing for 4-5 years but never got a look. Jaiswal has shown really good temperament but won't get in for another 4-5 years. That is the state of Indian cricket and selection committee. We are going to be crushed in two days and we deserve the shame but our corporate media will manage it well.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
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- 218,111
Australia great Mike Hussey believes the experience of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be crucial to India's chances at next month's ICC World Test Championship final in London.
Hussey was well-renowned as one of Australia's best batters in all conditions and thinks Kohli and Rohit must use their vast experience of batting in England to their advantage if India are to prevail against his former side.
The former Australia left-hander - who was among the coaching setup that helped England to last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title and is currently employed as batting coach of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL - had no hesitation in nominating the veteran duo as the key players for India at the one-off Test that commences at The Oval on June 7.
"It’s hard to see past Virat Kohli," Hussey remarked.
"He (Kohli) is obviously coming back into some great form again in all forms of the game really, so both he and Rohit Sharma with the bat are going to be important for India."
India recently regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an emphatic 2-1 victory over Australia in the four-match Test series on home soil, but Hussey knows conditions will be vastly different in London with fast bowling expected to be of more importance than the spin friendly tracks both sides faced on the sub-continent.
Hussey thinks India's quicks can make a difference at The Oval, but knows Australia's plethora of quality pacers - that includes skipper Pat Cummins and experienced left-armer Mitchell Starc - will prove difficult to handle.
"It is going to be played in England, so English conditions will be different to the recent series in India, so I think the fast bowlers are going to be important," Hussey noted.
"Pat Cummins (is a key for Australia) and Josh Hazlewood might be fit again which would be nice for Australia.
"But India have got so many great bowlers as well. You’ve got (Mohammed) Siraj and (Mohammed) Shami and obviously the spinners with (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin as well.
Ravi Shastri selects a combined XI from the Australia and India line-ups set to meet in the ICC World Test Championship final 2023
"It’s a world-class attack and the Aussies are going to have to be at their best to beat them."
And pressed for which team he thinks will prevail and hold aloft the highly-coveted World Test Championship mace, a diplomatic Hussey said he was hoping for a good even contest between the two quality sides.
"I just want to see two great teams go head-to-head and see who comes out on top," Hussey said.
"We just want to see good, hard, fair cricket and whoever comes out on top deserves to. And it should be a fantastic match."
ICC
Hussey was well-renowned as one of Australia's best batters in all conditions and thinks Kohli and Rohit must use their vast experience of batting in England to their advantage if India are to prevail against his former side.
The former Australia left-hander - who was among the coaching setup that helped England to last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title and is currently employed as batting coach of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL - had no hesitation in nominating the veteran duo as the key players for India at the one-off Test that commences at The Oval on June 7.
"It’s hard to see past Virat Kohli," Hussey remarked.
"He (Kohli) is obviously coming back into some great form again in all forms of the game really, so both he and Rohit Sharma with the bat are going to be important for India."
India recently regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an emphatic 2-1 victory over Australia in the four-match Test series on home soil, but Hussey knows conditions will be vastly different in London with fast bowling expected to be of more importance than the spin friendly tracks both sides faced on the sub-continent.
Hussey thinks India's quicks can make a difference at The Oval, but knows Australia's plethora of quality pacers - that includes skipper Pat Cummins and experienced left-armer Mitchell Starc - will prove difficult to handle.
"It is going to be played in England, so English conditions will be different to the recent series in India, so I think the fast bowlers are going to be important," Hussey noted.
"Pat Cummins (is a key for Australia) and Josh Hazlewood might be fit again which would be nice for Australia.
"But India have got so many great bowlers as well. You’ve got (Mohammed) Siraj and (Mohammed) Shami and obviously the spinners with (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin as well.
Ravi Shastri selects a combined XI from the Australia and India line-ups set to meet in the ICC World Test Championship final 2023
"It’s a world-class attack and the Aussies are going to have to be at their best to beat them."
And pressed for which team he thinks will prevail and hold aloft the highly-coveted World Test Championship mace, a diplomatic Hussey said he was hoping for a good even contest between the two quality sides.
"I just want to see two great teams go head-to-head and see who comes out on top," Hussey said.
"We just want to see good, hard, fair cricket and whoever comes out on top deserves to. And it should be a fantastic match."
ICC
Unbiased-Fan
Local Club Captain
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- 2,233
Australians are ready for WTC challenge. Almost everyone in their sqauad are fresh and fit. We Indians will suffer another loss like previous finals, all thanks to IPL.
The International Cricket Council has confirmed the Australia and India squads for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final to be played at The Oval from 7-11 June.
With the start of the support period today, any changes to the squad can now only be made with the approval of the Event Technical Committee.
Billed as the Ultimate Test, the WTC Final has 12 June earmarked as a reserve day to make up for any loss of play on the scheduled five days.
This is the second edition of the WTC, which was introduced in 2019 to add context to the longest format of the game. New Zealand were the champions of the inaugural edition, beating India by eight wickets in the final in Southampton.
The winners of the WTC Final will take home a purse of $ 1.6 million while the losers will get $ 800,000. More details on prize money can be found here.
The squads:
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
Reserves: Mitch Marsh, Matt Renshaw
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, Umesh Yadav.
Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav
With the start of the support period today, any changes to the squad can now only be made with the approval of the Event Technical Committee.
Billed as the Ultimate Test, the WTC Final has 12 June earmarked as a reserve day to make up for any loss of play on the scheduled five days.
This is the second edition of the WTC, which was introduced in 2019 to add context to the longest format of the game. New Zealand were the champions of the inaugural edition, beating India by eight wickets in the final in Southampton.
The winners of the WTC Final will take home a purse of $ 1.6 million while the losers will get $ 800,000. More details on prize money can be found here.
The squads:
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
Reserves: Mitch Marsh, Matt Renshaw
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, Umesh Yadav.
Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav
cricketjoshila
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
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- 48,322
- Post of the Week
- 1
I look at that squad and see 5 passengers.
Ab Fan
Senior Test Player
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2015
- Runs
- 28,356
Same opening partner for India for another WTC final- Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill.
KL misses out on a chance for another WTC Final.
KL misses out on a chance for another WTC Final.
Rohit should drop at 5 and let Jaiswal open with Gill.
sweep_shot
World Star
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- Mar 30, 2016
- Runs
- 52,326
I think solution is to shorten the IPL. It is too long currently.
jattafridi
T20I Debutant
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- Feb 7, 2007
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- 7,924
It’s hard to beat team like India
But still supporting My Green
Revenge of Gabba
But still supporting My Green
Revenge of Gabba
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,422
It’s hard to beat team like India
But still supporting My Green
Revenge of Gabba
This Australia is one of the most complete side in the world. Especially if they bat on flat wickets they will crush you
Hitman
Senior T20I Player
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2013
- Runs
- 17,932
It’s hard to beat team like India
But still supporting My Green
Revenge of Gabba
For the current Australian side that too in England?
hitthestump
First Class Captain
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- Jun 17, 2013
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- 5,353
And who will pay for the BCCI executive's lavish lifestyle? Not happening in a million years.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey has revealed he maintains a close relationship with a host of former keepers that have previously worn the Baggy Green and often turns to them for advice as his own burgeoning Test career continues to prosper.
Just seven players have donned the gloves for Australia at Test level since the turn of the century, while keeping legends Rod Marsh and Ian Healy were among a group of former players that paved the way for the next generation that Carey is now attempting to emulate.
Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey talks exclusively to the ICC in the build up to the ICC World Test Championship final against India
Fellow keeper Adam Gilchrist presented Carey with his Baggy Green when he made his Test debut against England in Brisbane during the most recent Ashes series in 2021 and the left-hander said the Australia great is among a small, but select, group of former keepers he still remains in contact with.
Carey, in England ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final against India and an eagerly-awaited Ashes series with England, admitted he enjoys hearing regularly from the tight-knit group of Australian wicket-keepers.
"The beauty of representing Australia as a wicket-keeper is it’s a pretty small club," Carey said.
"Adam Gilchrist presented my Baggy Green and is a guy I obviously looked up to when I was a youngster.
"Brad Haddin was part of the one-day World Cup, I have done some work with Ian Healy, Graham Manou is a South Australian boy and Tim Paine recently as well - and Matty Wade is another.
"It is really nice to be able to bounce ideas off those guys, even just some thoughts and questions to get a second opinion. They are really open to offering advice and support and like I said it is a pretty small club so it is always nice to hear from those guys."
Ricky Ponting is another ex-player to have worked alongside Carey, with the duo's relationship blossoming during the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and then re-ignited shortly after when they joined forces in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Capitals.
Ponting spoke glowingly of Carey on the most recent episode of The ICC Review, with the Australia legend declaring the current gloveman had improved immensely behind the stumps in recent times and was "currently second to none around world cricket" when compared to other Test wicket-keepers.
Carey said he was stoked to hear such strong praise from an iconic Australian player and he will continue to work hard on his trade and become even better over the coming years.
"To hear those words from Ricky is great,” Carey noted.
“As a player I have tried to improve with every game and with every opportunity I get. To work with Ricky over the last number of years, starting over here in England four years ago and part of the One-Day World Cup was great and it would be nice to have a great tour here."
Carey will be aiming to further strengthen his credentials when Australia play six Tests in quick succession over the next two months, with his first chance to add to his one Test century coming in the World Test Championship Final against India at The Oval from June 7.
Australia will enter the one-off Test without playing a competitive warm-up match and the decision raised some eyebrows back home with former skipper Allan Border among a group to have queried the move ahead of an extremely crucial stretch of Test cricket.
But Carey has defended the move and urged the naysayers to hold fire until the completion of the tour.
"The guys have all gone away and had individual programs over this (recent) period. We have had guys playing cricket here in England. The guys at the IPL and some guys at home spending some time there," Carey noted.
"Coming together now we really feel the excitement heading into the Test Championship and I think it will be a hindsight thing about whether or not we should have played a warm-up match.
"As a player I feel like we will be ready come that first match so I think it will be one of the things talked about after the Test match."
ICC
Just seven players have donned the gloves for Australia at Test level since the turn of the century, while keeping legends Rod Marsh and Ian Healy were among a group of former players that paved the way for the next generation that Carey is now attempting to emulate.
Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey talks exclusively to the ICC in the build up to the ICC World Test Championship final against India
Fellow keeper Adam Gilchrist presented Carey with his Baggy Green when he made his Test debut against England in Brisbane during the most recent Ashes series in 2021 and the left-hander said the Australia great is among a small, but select, group of former keepers he still remains in contact with.
Carey, in England ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final against India and an eagerly-awaited Ashes series with England, admitted he enjoys hearing regularly from the tight-knit group of Australian wicket-keepers.
"The beauty of representing Australia as a wicket-keeper is it’s a pretty small club," Carey said.
"Adam Gilchrist presented my Baggy Green and is a guy I obviously looked up to when I was a youngster.
"Brad Haddin was part of the one-day World Cup, I have done some work with Ian Healy, Graham Manou is a South Australian boy and Tim Paine recently as well - and Matty Wade is another.
"It is really nice to be able to bounce ideas off those guys, even just some thoughts and questions to get a second opinion. They are really open to offering advice and support and like I said it is a pretty small club so it is always nice to hear from those guys."
Ricky Ponting is another ex-player to have worked alongside Carey, with the duo's relationship blossoming during the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and then re-ignited shortly after when they joined forces in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Capitals.
Ponting spoke glowingly of Carey on the most recent episode of The ICC Review, with the Australia legend declaring the current gloveman had improved immensely behind the stumps in recent times and was "currently second to none around world cricket" when compared to other Test wicket-keepers.
Carey said he was stoked to hear such strong praise from an iconic Australian player and he will continue to work hard on his trade and become even better over the coming years.
"To hear those words from Ricky is great,” Carey noted.
“As a player I have tried to improve with every game and with every opportunity I get. To work with Ricky over the last number of years, starting over here in England four years ago and part of the One-Day World Cup was great and it would be nice to have a great tour here."
Carey will be aiming to further strengthen his credentials when Australia play six Tests in quick succession over the next two months, with his first chance to add to his one Test century coming in the World Test Championship Final against India at The Oval from June 7.
Australia will enter the one-off Test without playing a competitive warm-up match and the decision raised some eyebrows back home with former skipper Allan Border among a group to have queried the move ahead of an extremely crucial stretch of Test cricket.
But Carey has defended the move and urged the naysayers to hold fire until the completion of the tour.
"The guys have all gone away and had individual programs over this (recent) period. We have had guys playing cricket here in England. The guys at the IPL and some guys at home spending some time there," Carey noted.
"Coming together now we really feel the excitement heading into the Test Championship and I think it will be a hindsight thing about whether or not we should have played a warm-up match.
"As a player I feel like we will be ready come that first match so I think it will be one of the things talked about after the Test match."
ICC
The International Cricket Council has announced the match officials for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final to be played between Australia and India at The Oval from 7-11 June.
Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand and Richard Illingworth of England have been named as the on-field umpires for the Ultimate Test, which has 12 June earmarked as a reserve day to make up for any lost time during the scheduled five days of play.
Gaffaney, 48, will be standing in his 49th Test match while it will be the 64th Test for 59-year-old Illingworth, who also stood in the first WTC Final two years ago that New Zealand won with an eight-wicket victory over India in Southampton.
Another England umpire, Richard Kettleborough, will also be officiating in a second successive WTC Final, once again appointed as the TV umpire. Kumar Dharmasena of Sri Lanka will be the fourth umpire.
Richie Richardson of the West Indies will be the match referee.
Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand and Richard Illingworth of England have been named as the on-field umpires for the Ultimate Test, which has 12 June earmarked as a reserve day to make up for any lost time during the scheduled five days of play.
Gaffaney, 48, will be standing in his 49th Test match while it will be the 64th Test for 59-year-old Illingworth, who also stood in the first WTC Final two years ago that New Zealand won with an eight-wicket victory over India in Southampton.
Another England umpire, Richard Kettleborough, will also be officiating in a second successive WTC Final, once again appointed as the TV umpire. Kumar Dharmasena of Sri Lanka will be the fourth umpire.
Richie Richardson of the West Indies will be the match referee.
JattMaula
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India didnt regain the BGT this year. We retained It. It has been with India since 2017 for four straight series'.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> members begin their preparations for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTC23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTC23</a> at Arundel Castle Cricket Club. <a href="https://t.co/2kvGyjWNF7">pic.twitter.com/2kvGyjWNF7</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1663148312126431232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
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CrIc_Mystique
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This should have been the scene on April 29. By may 29th when this pic was taken, we should have had a minimum of 2 FC matches against county. Our batsmen would be in some sort of rhythm and we would have a better idea of conditions, combinations and form.
The way things are, our guys will struggle to find the middle of the bat against the swinging ball that will challenge all three edges.
And now with the rains in Ahmedabad, one more precious day is lost, you can almost feel another 25 percent going down the drain.
The cementheads at BCCI and the IPL gung ho brigade need to do serious introspection. Sadly honestly, transparency and accountability were never the strongpoints of the board that represents us.
Still, its a final and hope springs eternal - Hope we at least give a good fight and some pepper up their noses
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