Australian batting and bowling lineup looks settled before the WTC Final 2023 at The Oval but still a mystery who will play for India. The last time Jadeja and Ashwin played WTC Final against New Zealand they could not make a severe impact, which is creating doubts for the Team Management to play both.
Indian Playing 11 mystery for WTC Final 2023
Indian batting lineup majorly looks settled and known to everyone but the bowling lineup has a lot of questions to answer. How many spinners? How many pacers? How do balance allrounders? There were three spinners in Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in February-March this year. But England has different bowling conditions and Dukes’ ball would challenge Indian Management and Captain Rohit Sharma.
Ashwin and Jadeja took 25 and 22 wickets respectively in Border-Gavaskar Trophy which led India to win Series 2-1 and Qualify for WTC Final. Shardul Thakur was not regular in the team as well as the Test team but conditions in England may favor to play him ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin.
In the pace lineup, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj have confirmed their spot. While for the other 2 spaces left, 3 contenders are there. Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul but looks like the team will go with Shardul Thakur to bring the all-rounder aspect and Umesh Yadav.
Daniel Vettori backs Jadeja for WTC Final
Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori and a good amount of talk with Australian Management about India’s Playing 11, looks like they are going with Jadeja in the middle-order.
He also said: “Ashwin is an incredible bowler and he will be the first choice in most teams, and just with their combinations it may lead to that (him missing selection), We expect The Oval to behave how it always behaves. It is a good wicket, but it can offer a lot to the spinners as the game goes on.”
Harbhajan Singh on KS Bharat
While Harbhajan Singh looks uncomfortable with KS Bharat as first priority wicketkeeper in England’s conditions. While having conversations in Star Sports He said: “No, I don’t think so. KS Bharat has been playing for India now. If it were Wriddhiman Saha, then I would say yes, play him. He has more experience and he’s a better keeper. If KL Rahul was fit, I would’ve played him over KS Bharat as well,”
Saha has not played in a Test match for India since being benched for the home series against Sri Lanka in February of last year. Even before Saha lost his spot in the team, Rishabh Pant was the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter, and the veteran India player was replaced by KS Bharat.
Saha, however, has persisted in putting on strong performances in both the 2023 Indian Premier League and domestic cricket. For the Gujarat Titans, he and Shubman Gill made a potent opening pair that helped the team advance to its second straight final this year. In 17 games, Saha scored 371 runs during the season. KS Bharat didn’t play a single match this year in IPL for Gujarat Titans.
ICC Trophy for India 10 years ago
At the World Test Championship final, India will be going for their first ICC championship in ten years. The team’s most recent ICC championship was won in the Champions Trophy in 2013 while MS Dhoni was captain.
It will not be easy for India to play in England with opposition bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Scoot Boland, and Cameron Green.
Starc would pierce the defenses of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with his in-swingers from outside the off stump, while Hazlewood would put Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill to the test with his consistent lengths. The workhorses would be Green and Pat Cummins. On days four and five, Nathan Lyon can be used because the Kia Oval wicket in south London usually favors spinners once it wears out.
