"We quickly had to regroup after WTC final in Southampton" - Rohit Sharma on India's roadmap to WTC final 2021-23
Indian captain Rohit Sharma credited teammates for qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in the 2021–23 cycle. Team India won 10 out of 18 Tests in the latest WTC cycle to finish second on the points table with a win percentage of 58.80 percent.
India defeated New Zealand (1-0), Sri Lanka (2-0), Bangladesh (2-0), and Australia (2-1) in their road to the WTC final. The only bilateral series they lost was against South Africa (1-2), while they squared the five-match series against England (2-2).
Rohit Sharma took over the reins of India's red-ball leadership from Virat Kohli midway through the WTC 2021–23 cycle.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently shared a video, which was recorded after the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Senior Indian players have expressed their thoughts on the team's roadmap to the WTC final.
Speaking about the contributions of individuals in the last couple of years, Rohit Sharma said:
"Lot of players have played in that cycle and different individuals have stepped up, put in the performances that we were looking for from the individual."
He continued:
"To be standing here and knowing we have qualified for the finals feels really great because all the efforts you put in for the last two years finally has come to the fore. Obviously the job is not yet done, we have to go out there and get the best result for us in the final."
Rohit added:
"After the World Test Championship final in Southampton, we quickly had to regroup and get ready for the next cycle. I thought in that cycle we played some really tough cricket."
The Hitman concluded:
"We were challenged a lot of times and I thought to come out of that was obviously going to take a lot of character from everyone, not just a few individuals."
"This time we are very well prepared against Australia" - Cheteshwar Pujara on India's chances for WTC final
India are scheduled to play table leaders Australia in the WTC 2021–23 final at the Kia Oval in London from June 7–11. This will be the second time in a row for the Asian giants to reach the final of the restructured ICC event.
India ended up as the runners-up to New Zealand in the previous edition. Kane Williamson's men defeated India in the 2019–2021 final by eight wickets in Southampton to win the inaugural WTC title.
Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara is confident in his team's preparations to end their ICC title drought since 2013.
Pujara said:
"Unfortunately we lost against New Zealand but this time we are very well prepared against Australia. We have been very great competitors."
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Reports have suggested that the first batch of the Indian contingent, involving 20 members, left for England on Tuesday (May 23) in order to start preparations for the WTC final against Australia.