“One week is not enough” - Wasim Jaffer reckons India were under-prepared for WTC final due to IPL
Former opener Wasim Jaffer reckons that India were under-prepared for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which was held just a few days after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. According to Jaffer, a one-week preparation for such a mega event was just not enough.
India went down to Australia by 209 runs in the WTC final at The Oval, which ended on Sunday, June 11, struggling in both batting and bowling departments. Following the defeat, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid admitted that additional days for preparation could have helped the team’s cause.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Jaffer also echoed similar views.
“The IPL final was on May 28 [29], while the World Test Championship final was on June 7. There was only one week’s time for preparation. I think one week is not enough for preparations. The same thing happened during the last WTC as well against New Zealand. We lost that one as well. I just feel they did not get enough time to prepare,” he said.
While the IPL final was played on May 29, players whose teams did not make it to the playoffs of the T20 league left for England in batches. It still wasn’t enough, though, as India came a cropper in the WTC summit clash.
“In the IPL, one has to bowl four overs” - Jaffer on Indian bowlers’ ineffectiveness in WTC final
According to Jaffer, featuring in the IPL was one of the reasons India’s bowlers failed to get their line right in the WTC final. The former cricketer explained that the workload in IPL and a red-ball contest is completely different.
“The length of the bowlers was on the shorter side. One of the reasons could be that all the bowlers were coming in from the IPL. The lack of preparation was evident. In the IPL, one has to bowl four overs. Here, you have to bowl 17-18 overs in a day. There’s a big difference. The body is not used to that," Jaffer elaborated.
“Batters are not used to leaving many balls and playing out two sessions at a time. It’s a big switch, which is not easy. But, India deserve credit for reaching two consecutive WTC finals, although we could not go on to win,” he added.
While Australia scored 469 and 270/8 declared in the WTC final, India managed totals of 296 and 234.