Team India’s Probable Playing XI for WTC Final

The BCCI and the selection committee have announced the final 15-member squad for the upcoming WTC Finals, scheduled to begin on June 7th at the Oval in London. The selected members will travel to London after completing the tight schedule of the IPL. This marks the second consecutive time that Team India will be participating in the final game, as they faced New Zealand in the inaugural tournament. In this edition, India will confront the formidable Australian squad, which recently competed in the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy held in India.

Team India concluded their World Test Championship (2021-2023) campaign in the second position on the Points Table. With 10 victories out of 18 matches, Team India accumulated 127 points. However, it was the Australian side that claimed the top spot with 152 points.

Nevertheless, the arch-rivals are set to give their best at the Oval starting from June 7th. In this article, we have compiled a list of players from Team India who are expected to be part of the playing XI in the final match of the World Test Championship.

The Top Order: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara

Rohit Sharma will be the leading man and this will be his 1st WTC final as a captain. He will be opening the game with the talented Shubman Gill. Gill has been in brilliant form and he has performed exceptionally well in the recent games. Shubman Gill has been part of 15 Tests in which he has scored 890 runs at an average of 34.2 and a strike rate of 57.6. The duo is expected to give a solid start to the team against the Australian attack. Chiteshwar Pujara will be in the third spot. Pujara has made shown positive signs in his performance and his experience on international pitches will come in handy.

The Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (WK)

Virat Kohli has made a brilliant comeback in all the formats of the game. He has proved his critics wrong and has done a commendable job with his aggressive style of batting. Because of the injury of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, BCCI has opted for Ajinkye Rahane. Rahane will be making a comeback to the team after a year and he has shown positivity with his bat in the ongoing IPL tournament. KS Bharat will be responsible handle the innings at number 6 and he will also be given responsibility for the wicket-keeping.

Spin Attack: Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin

English pitches are known for not supporting the spin bowlers. However, skipper Rohit Sharma will use the deadly spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. They both are experienced at the international pitches and both have chemistry in the red-ball format. Ashwin will be motivated to scalp some more wickets at the England pitches. He is known for his performances against the Australian batters. Ravindra Jadeja will also be used as an allrounder who can bat well in the lower order. Before Jadeja’s injury, he gave tough times to the opposition with his bat in the longest format of the game.

Pace Attack: Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur

The biggest concern for India’s team management will be the struggling pace attack. With the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, team India has struggled to find stability in their pace attack. However, Mohammad Shami has been brilliant and he alone is handling the responsibility of the pace attack. In recent times, Mohammad Siraj has shown some positive signs but he is less experienced on international grounds. The third pacer can be Shardul Thakur or Jaydev Unadkat. However, considering Unadkat’s less experience in international cricket, Shardul Thakur is expected to be part of the playing XI.