WTC Final 2023: After losing in the inaugural World Test Championship Final in 2021, captain Rohit Sharma believes every player had tremendous grit and stepped up when necessary to lead India to the championship final twice in a row. Beginning on June 7, the 2021-2023 cycle WTC final will feature India vs Australia at The Oval.
“After the World Test Championship (2021 final) in Southampton, we quickly had to regroup and get ready for the next cycle,” Rohit stated in a video posted 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,” the India captain added.
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After the heartbreak of losing the inaugural WTC final against New Zealand in 2021, Rohit was gushing with appreciation for the resilient nature of his teammates.
“Look, it’s a cycle of two years and we play a lot of Test matches during that period. Lot(s) of players have played in that cycle,” he said.
“Different individuals have stepped up, putting the performances that we were looking for from the individual.”
India will be without the services of three important players in the forthcoming WTC final: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Pant is recovering from a terrible car accident that occurred in December while Bumrah and Iyer are nursing their injuries.
The only other Indian batters to average above 40 in the first WTC were Pant and Iyer, who combined for more than 500 runs, and Bumrah took 45 wickets from 10 Test matches during that time.
Cheteshwar Pujara and R Ashwin are also all-set
Cheteshwar Pujara, a veteran Indian batter, said the group should acknowledge the trio’s services.
“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.”
To qualify for two consecutive WTC finals is “no mean feat,” according to veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
“The turnaround definitely started in 2014. MS Dhoni had just retired and we had all played for a few Tests… 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 (for 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,” he concluded.
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