The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India's 15-member squad for the final of the 2021-23 World Test Championship against Australia. The summit clash is set to be played at The Oval in London from June 7 to 11. The biggest highlight from the Rohit Sharma-led squad announced by the Board is Ajinkya Rahane’s inclusion into the Test match setup.
Rahane's inclusion comes after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to a back injury. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav, who was drafted into the Playing 11 in the home Tests against Australia in place of Iyer, had been dropped following underwhelming returns with the bat. Now, he is back in form. KL Rahul is also doubtful to be fit to play the final, after he picked up a serious injury in an IPL match. That's why Suryakumar is now likely to be named as substitute for Rahul.
With Rishabh Pant also unavailable for selection as he continues to recover from the injuries. He sustained in a car accident in December last year, KS Bharat will be the team's designated wicketkeeper.
Shubman Gill is expected to open with Rohit Sharma. Jasprit Bumrah is unsurprisingly not part of the squad announced by the BCCI owing to fitness concerns. Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Jaydev Unadkat are the special speedsters chosen in the squad for the big game, with Shardul Thakur included as a pace-bowling all-rounder. However, Unadkat was also ruled out with an arm-injury he had suffered while bowling in the nets for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. The BCCI is yet to name a replacement for Unadkat.
It would be interesting to see if both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin make it to the Final 11 or if one is forced to sit on the bench. Conditions in London are expected to be favorable for seam and swing, making it tempting to play someone like Shardul.
This is India's second successive WTC final appearance after they lost to New Zealand in the final of the inaugural cycle of the Championship. India will face Australia in the summit clash, and the latter had earlier announced their squad for this fixture.
Full squad for India's WTC final
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul (doubtful), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Jaydev Unadkat (injured).