Toby Marshall
On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia. The final is scheduled to take place at the Oval in England from June 7 to 11. Ajinkya Rahane’s impressive performances for the Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL 2023 have earned him a place in the final squad.
India and Australia are set to face each other in the final of the World Test Championship 2023, which will be held in June. The five-day Test match is scheduled to take place from June 7 to 11 at the Kennington Oval Stadium in London, UK. Both Australia and India qualified for the WTC final by finishing in the top two positions in the World Test Championship points table.
During the ICC Test tournament, Australia played a total of 19 Test matches, winning 11, losing 3, and drawing 5 games. With a win percentage of 66, Australia secured the top spot in the points table. On the other hand, India won 10 matches and lost 5, resulting in a win percentage of 58, placing them in the second spot.
Australia’s 15-man squad for the World Test Championship final against India includes Josh Hazlewood, keeping him in contention for the match. Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw have been designated as reserves from the initial 17-player squad chosen for the Ashes series.
Although Hazlewood had to cut short his IPL season due to minor side soreness, Cricket Australia has given him the green light to participate in the championship Test at The Oval. In the selection process, Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Renshaw were not included in Australia’s squad for the World Test Championship final against India, which is scheduled to take place from June 7-11.
In accordance with ICC regulations, teams are mandated to submit squads consisting of 15 members. However, Australia had initially announced a 17-man touring party for the upcoming Ashes series, exceeding the usual limit.Consequently, Marsh and Renshaw find themselves out of contention for the summit clash.
Renshaw’s exclusion from the WTC squad indicates that Marcus Harris remains the preferred backup for the opening positions. This decision also relieves the pressure on David Warner, who has struggled for runs in recent Test matches. Given Warner’s past success in England, he will face a significant challenge this time, but head coach Andrew McDonald has expressed strong support for the left-handed opener.
Australia: P Cummins (Captain), Scott Boland, A Carey (wk), Cam Green, Marcus Harris, J Hazlewood, Travis Head, U Khawaja, M Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, D Warner.
Reserves: Mitchell Marsh, M Renshaw
India: R Sharma (captain), Ravi Ashwin, K Bharat (wk), S Gill, Ravi Jadeja, V Kohli, IS Kishan, C Pujara, Axar Patel, A Rahane, Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, S Thakur, J Unadakt, Umesh Yadav.
Reserves: Y Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav
The ICC rankings released on Wednesday saw Premier India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin losing six rating points, but he remained the joint number one Test bowler with England's James Anderson. This tie at the top puts Australian captain Pat Cummins, South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, and spinner Nathan Lyon within striking distance to become the top Test bowler in the world.
On June 27, the BCCI and ICC made a joint announcement regarding the schedule for the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 in Mumbai. This highly anticipated event is set to commence on October 5 and culminate with the final match on November 19.
