Both Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin are likely to feature in the one off final for India. (Reuters) WTC Final, 10 talking points: India walk into the 2023 World Test Championship Final without any injury concerns. That however, doesn’t mean they don’t have selection questions to ponder over. Rohit Sharma and Co. have five seamers and three spinners in their squad to choose a bowling attack from.
While Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are pretty much guaranteed to compose the pace attack, Ravindra Jadeja walks into the playing XI owing to his all round abilities that have been relied upon in overseas Tests for some games now. The choice comes down to whether India will feature two more seamers or one of each to account for the five bowlers in their lineup.
Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat, who had picked up injuries during the 2023 Indian Premier League season have travelled with the team to England and are available for selection. Unadkat however, doesn’t seem to be in contention over Yadav and Shardul Thakur, who was also part of the India squad that won two Test matches in the English summer of 2021.
Ahead of the WTC Final, here’s how India can line up for the clash:
With the surface at The Oval already having been teased as a bouncing one, someone like Umesh Yadav may come handy for the runner ups of the last World Test Championship. Known for his ability to bang the ball into the surface and sustain over longer periods of spell, the 35-year-old is likely to account for the third quick in the India XI.
It was a choice India had exercised in the previous WTC Final as well. Two spinners and three quicks. Ravichandran Ashwin, who was the talking point ahead of every Test in India's last series in England, seems like the choice India will opt for in the all important match to balance the tilt between seam and spin and to add more batting power.
The last time India played Australia - at home - KS Bharat kept stumps, making his red-ball debut for India. With Rishabh Pant, and now even KL Rahul out of contention, only Bharat and Ishan Kishan remain as the two options for India behind the stumps. While Bharat's first series for India featured dismal outings with the bat - 101 runs in six innings - the Andhra batter remains more suited to the red ball format than Kishan, who has also been having troubles of his own with the bat.
It may have been over a year since Ajinkya Rahane featured in India's whites but the captain who led them to a historic 2-1 series win in Australia two years ago has earned brownie points following a successful IPL stints with the Chennai Super Kings. The absence of both Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari, who had featured in the middle order instead, makes him an automatic pick for the final given his experience playing in England.
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav.
Fresh from a World Test Championship final defeat to New Zealand, India started off the 2021-23 cycle taking a 2-1 series lead off the four Tests in England. The Virat Kohli led side would take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in South Africa as well. It went south very quick as Dean Elgar and Co managed to win the next two games before losing the rescheduled series decider in England to end the series in a 2-2 draw. A smooth record at home with series wins against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia coupled with a series win in Bangladesh would help India finish second on the points table to set the final against Australia.
The last time India played at The Oval, they beat England by a staggering 157 runs. It was only their second win at the venue. In their 14 outings, India have lost five times and drawn the game on seven occasions.
If the match is drawn, tied or abandoned, then Australia and India will be declared joint winners of the World Test Championship.
The Oval pitch is expected to offer good bounce and early assistance for seamers with the weather forecast to be sunny and warm for at least the first few days of the Test.
In the two home games of the current summer in which Surrey have won the toss, they've chosen to bowl first. In the game against Middlesex, the home team win the match by nine wickets and against Kent they won by ten wickets.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
2 min read
