Ricky Ponting selects combined India-Australia playing XI for WTC Final; four Indian players make the cut
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting selected his best combined World Test Championship (WTC) Final playing XI out of players from India and Australia. The two heavyweights are scheduled to face each other in the high-profile encounter at The Oval from June 7 onwards.
In the batting department, Ponting chose a left hand-right hand combination in Usman Khawaja and Rohit Sharma. The latter's experience sided in his favor as he was nominated by the former player as the captain of the combined team. Ricky Ponting said in the latest edition of the ICC Review:
"I'm going left hand-right hand, so I'll go for Rohit Sharma as the other opener. He's not just entirely form-based either. I wanted him to be captain of the side.
“Pat Cummins, I'll mention him later, he'll be in this side, but just from the experience point of view with Rohit, he's obviously been captain a lot longer than Pat has, so I thought he deserved to be the captain of this team."
The fabled trio of Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith comprise the middle-order, with Alex Carey named as the wicket-keeper of the side. Among all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja made the cut over Cameron Green and is also the second spinner of the playing XI. Explaining his picks, Ponting said:
"Pretty hard to go past the next couple I've got in the batting line-up, which are Virat Kohli and Steve Smith."
"If you talk about great players of the last decade, both of these guys will be right at the top of anyone's list. Both with exceptional Test records and both make a lot of hundreds. I know it has been a couple of years and been a bit of a lean sort of trot with Virat, but he bounced back to his best in that last series against Australia and thoroughly deserves to be picked in the middle order."
"What I've seen with Ravi Jadeja the last two or three years in Test cricket is how much his batting has improved, and he can easily hold down a number six or number seven spot."
The bowling attack was dominated by Australians, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon all featuring in Ponting's side. Mohammed Shami emerges as the lone option among Indian bowlers, with the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin missing out. Ponting said:
“I know we're picking a Test team here, and Shami’s Test record the last couple of years has been outstanding, but some of his bowling over the last few weeks in the IPL has also been absolutely unbelievable,”
“It's a pretty good side. I wouldn't want to be another team that had to come up playing against that team. It's got pretty much every base covered, that's why I think everything leads to this being an intriguing World Test Championship Final.”
Australia ended the second WTC cycle as the league leaders and made it to the finals for the first time. The upcoming final marks India's second attempt at winning the trophy after losing to New Zealand in 2021.
Ricky Ponting combined XI for WTC Final
Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami
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