WTC Final: The World Test Championship final is less than a week away and the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team will be striving for success when they take against the Australian squad in the showdown at The Oval beginning on June 7. There are some star players missing from the team because of injuries, including Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian speed lineup appears to be rather good even without Bumrah. But without Pant, the options are Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat, and former India coach Ravi Shastri Ravi offered his opinion on the best wicketkeeper option for the WTC final. Follow WTC FINAL 2023 LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
“When you look at the WTC, if I remember from the last time India were in the final, it is very important what you learn from that game. You got to pick a team that suits the conditions. Last time in Southampton the weather was really overcast. Hence I will pick my 12. My 12 is very clear: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3, Virat Kohli at 4, Ajinkya Rahane at 5,” Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports.
“Now the choice has to be between KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan. I have a feeling that India might just go with..depending on who is playing..two spinners are playing may be KS Bharat. But if there are four seamers and one spinner then it will go the other way. Six will be Jadeja, 7 will be be Mohammed Shami, 8 will be Mohammed Siraj, 9 will be Shardul Thakur. 11 will be Ravichandran Ashwin and 12 will be Umesh Yadav.”
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Shastri is aware of the impact that weather might have since he served as coach during the WTC final 2021. In the match against New Zealand in Southampton two years ago, his India team picked three fast bowlers and two spinners, and the cloudy conditions nearly eliminated the use of spin.
Ravindra Jadeja only bowled 15.2 overs throughout the game, but Ravichandran Ashwin had a significant effect, taking four wickets and only allowing 45 runs in 25 overs over two innings. The Test was won by eight wickets by New Zealand, who played five seamers.
The Oval is known for spin, but the drawback for India is that Test matches there often take place in the hotter, drier second half of the English summer. Since 1880, The Oval has hosted 104 Test matches, with the bulk taking place in August and September and only eight beginning in July. The first-ever Oval Test in June will be the WTC final, which starts on June 7.
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