India will face Australia in the WTC 2021-23 final at the Oval from June 7-11.
The Indian squad was recently announced by the BCCI for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2021-23) final where the Rohit Sharma-led team will clash with Australia at the Oval in London from June 7-11.
Australia finished at the top spot in the final ICC WTC 2021-23 points standings and India attained the second spot after defeating Australia at home in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 test series by two Tests to one.
This will be the second time India will play in the WTC final, as they faced off against New Zealand in June 2021, at Southampton and lost to the Kane Williamson-led side.
This means India will have another chance to win an ICC trophy after its 2013 Champions Trophy victory which came under MS Dhoni.
However, the Indian squad has been hampered by injuries to key players as they are already without pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who recently underwent back surgery and is rehabbing at NCA in Bengaluru. Shreyas Iyer also hurt his back and will undergo back surgery in the UK and Rishabh Pant is already out of action for this year as he recovers from his injuries which he sustained in a car accident.
Here is the India squad for WTC 2023 final:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
However, in the ongoing IPL 2023, four of these players who are included in the Indian WTC final squad have suffered an injury and might be in doubt for the important one-off Tests against Australia.
Here are those:
1. Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav played in England last time India toured as he was part of the Indian squad for both the 2021 tour and the 2022 rescheduled squad. He is one of the fast bowlers, who can swing the ball at good speed in England.
However, he suffered a hamstring niggle ahead of his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL 2023 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at home in Eden Gardens. In the absence of Bumrah, his place becomes special. He has a good record on fast pitches.
However, it is expected that this injury will not be too serious and Umesh Yadav will make a comeback soon.
Also Read : Virat Kohli's best friend will get a place in the WTC final, was out of the team for 14 months
2. Shardul Thakur
Another important player in India’s WTC 2023 final squad Shardul Thakur suffered an injury in the ongoing IPL 2023 as he missed a couple of games for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) due to a hamstring niggle.
While he made his comeback against GT, he was sent to bat at no.3, but got out for a duck, and captain Nitish Rana didn’t give him an over. Shardul not bowling ahead of the ICC WTC final against Australia will be a big worrying sign for India as he is a bowling all-rounder.
Shardul has the capability to swing the ball in English conditions and is a gun player lower down the order with the bat and had scored twin fifties against England in one Test during the 2021 five-Test series.
3. Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Unadkat, who recently played Test cricket after being left out in the wilderness for a decade, also suffered an injury ahead of his franchise, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) match on Monday, May 1, 2023.
Unadkat, the left-arm pacer, was seen tripping in his follow-through and landing hard in his bowling arm and was seen wincing in pain. He was later administered an ice pack by the team physio, but he looked in pain.
Given that he is a left-arm pacer and can swing the ball, Unadkat might be considered in the final XI by Rohit Sharma and co. against Australia in the WTC final.
4. KL Rahul
LSG captain KL Rahul became the latest casualty in the long list of players who have suffered an injury in the IPL 2023 as he reportedly stretched his right thigh muscle as he chased a ball to the boundary during the RCB innings in their recent IPL 2023 match in Lucknow.
Rahul was helped off the field by the physio and he delayed his arrival at the crease due to the same even when LSG was in trouble chasing 126 runs.
While Rahul lost his vice-captaincy and place in the Indian test team during the Australia Test series at home, he was included in the Indian WTC final squad as a backup opener to Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma.
It is also speculated that Rahul might asked to keep wickets in place of KS Bharat for this one-off game, as he has experience of playing in England and his batting is better than the Andhra keeper.
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