India's probable playing XI for WTC Final
Team India have arrived in England for yet another World Test Championship (WTC) final, this time against Australia at The Oval beginning on Wednesday, June 7.
While the Australian team looks more or less settled, Team India do have certain areas that they need to address due to the injuries to star players like Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul.
Many believe these absentees could dent their chances ahead of the final. But Rohit Sharma and Co. would still want to put their best foot forward, and the first step towards that is to assign clear roles to each player.
On that note, let's take a look at India's probable playing XI for the WTC final:
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) & Shubman Gill
While Rohit Sharma was in indifferent form during the IPL 2023 season, he has been nothing short of fabulous as a Test opener. Rohit played a crucial role back in 2021 in England where he scored 368 runs in four Tests, including his maiden Test hundred away from home at The Oval.
India will need their captain to fire on all cylinders in the WTC final given that there are some major names missing in the batting line-up.
Shubman Gill has been sensational across formats over the past 12 months, but his biggest test will be playing against a top-quality Australian bowling attack in tough conditions. Gill did score a hundred in his previous Test against the same attack, and while the conditions will be different, he will be motivated to step up on the big stage.
Middle-order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk)
After a decent domestic season and amid injuries to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane looks set to play in the middle order alongside the experienced Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. The trio have been the fulcrum of India's success as a batting group in Tests over the past decade, and will need to turn up if their team is to win the WTC final.
Ravindra Jadeja scored a hundred in his last Test in England and is in great form with both bat and ball. India have preferred to go with just a solitary spinner in overseas Tests of late, and Jadeja is likely to get the nod ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin.
KS Bharat will likely continue to keep wickets in Rishabh Pant's absence.
Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Shardul Thakur has been the seam-bowling all-rounder used by the Indian team management in overseas Tests over the past few years, and he has often delivered with crucial runs and wickets. Umesh Yadav's ability to swing the ball and also use the long handle may give him the nod ahead of Jaydev Unadkat.
The two names among the bowlers that are almost certain to be a part of the XI are Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. With Bumrah not available, the onus will be on the duo of Shami and Siraj to break the game open for their team.
India need to pick up 20 wickets, and Shami and Siraj would arguably need to do the bulk of the work for that.