The World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia will be played at the Oval in London from June 7–11, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a strong 15-member India squad for the WTC final.
The team will be captained by Rohit Sharma, and former India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has returned to the lineup after an absence of more than a year as a result of his successful performances for the Chennai Super Kings in the current IPL and in the Ranji Trophy.
After the South Africa tour in January of last year, Rahane was taken off the Test team, and he has since had trouble finding his red-ball form. Rahane, though, performed admirably for Mumbai during the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy season. He scored 634 runs at an average of 57.63 in 7 games.
After that, Rahane’s experience with the MS Dhoni-led CSK has only improved his chances because he has an incredibly good rhythm with the bat, striking a 199 and scoring 209 runs in just 5 games.
Surya Kumar Yadav who was included for the series against Australia at home has been dropped. KL Rahul, who missed the final two Tests of the Australia series, is also back with the team.
Spin All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel have retained their positions on the team. The three of them probably won’t play together, though. In fact, if the conditions for the WTC Final are conducive for seamers, the management may decide to play Shardul Thakur as the fourth pacer, which would leave just one spot open for a spinner out of Ashwin, Jadeja, or Axar.
Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be responsible for leading the speed assault in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who is also out due to a back ailment. The competition for third seam bowler will be between Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat.
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