WTC final: [Watch] When Ishant Sharma styled Mayank Agarwal's hair
It was all fun and banter for some of India's players ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will start on Friday (June 18) in Southampton. The official ICC Twitter handle posted some behind-the-scenes footage of Mayank Agarwal sharing some light-hearted moments with Ishant Sharma at a recent photoshoot.
The clip shows Agarwal cracking up while Sharma poses for the camera. The Karnataka batsman can also be seen clicking pictures of Sharma and laughing. This was followed by Agarwal getting his hair styled by Sharma soon after.
You can watch the clip here:
Ishant makes the playing XI for the WTC final, Agarwal misses out
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul were some of the names that failed to make the 15-man squad for the WTC final. Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma will feature in the clash against the Kiwis.
Following their 3-1 series triumph over England at home earlier this year, Team India finished a the top of the WTC points table. Virat Kohli's men recorded 72.2 percentage points, booking a date with Kane Williamson's formidable Kiwi side (70 percentage points) in the WTC final.
Former India cricketer VVS Laxman has backed Sharma to lead India's pace battery against New Zealand. Speaking on the Star Sports show "Cricket Connected", he said:
“I appreciate the way Mohammad Siraj performed in Australia and with the limited opportunities he got against England in the home series. But I think the way Ishant Sharma has contributed to the success and progress of the Indian team – we can’t discount that.”
He added:
“It’s a one-off Test match, it’s a World Test Championship final. I would back Ishant Sharma because, over so many years, he has contributed immensely to the Indian team. We’ve seen that it’s actually the leader of the pack.”
India's playing XI against New Zealand for the WTC final
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah