WTC final: “Someone has to sing”, insists Rohit Sharma in cute video featuring daughters of Indian cricketers
Even as Team India prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s wife Radhika Dhopavkar has shared an adorable video of Indian cricketers’ daughters playing together.
Families of the Indian cricketers have been allowed to stay with the players in the bio-secure bubble. India have a long tour of the UK, with the WTC final against New Zealand set to be followed by five Tests against England.
On Tuesday, Radhika uploaded a video of the little ones enjoying themselves. Apart from Rohit’s daughter Samaira, Ravichandran Ashwin’s daughters, Aadhya and Akhira, Cheteshwar Pujara's daughter Aditi and Rahane's daughter Aarya are seen in the video. Radhika uploaded the clip with the caption:
“These cuties.”
While Rohit Sharma is not visible in the video, he is heard saying:
"Someone has to sing, Sammy sing."
Team India are currently gearing up for the WTC final against the Black Caps, which will be played at Southampton from June 18-22. On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named India’s 15-member squad for the WTC final.
Opener Mayank Agarwal, left-arm spinner Axar Patel, batsman KL Rahul, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and off-spinner Washington Sundar were left out from the squad for the WTC final.
"Our batting looks stronger" - Sachin Tendulkar shares views on WTC final
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has opined that India’s batting may be stronger than New Zealand in the WTC final. However, the maestro believes there is nothing much to choose in the pace bowling department.
Tendulkar was quoted as telling Moneycontrol:
“I wouldn’t say any team is stronger. If at all, our batting looks possibly stronger than their batting. We’ve got better spinners, I’d say. When it comes to fast bowling, it is pretty much balanced. Someone like Tim Southee has played as much as Ishant Sharma. If you look at Trent Boult, then Mohammed Shami has played about as many number of games. With (Jasprit) Bumrah and Shardul (Thakur) and (Mohammed) Siraj, they are very much like (Kyle) Jamieson and (Neil) Wagner.”
There has been plenty of debate over the Indian playing XI for the WTC final. According to Tendulkar, it would be better to have a look at the pitch before making a final decision. He added:
“One would want to look at the surface before taking a call. Whatever the curator (Simon Lee) has said so far, whatever I have heard, is that the wicket will have pace and bounce too. The beauty of the Indian squad is that both spinners can bat, can give you those invaluable runs at the end of the innings.”
Team India’s squad for the WTC final: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha