With the buzz of the World Test Championship (WTC) finals getting louder and louder with every passing day, the craze and excitement levels are shooting up to an unprecedented level. The WTC finals will be taking place at The Oval from 7th June 2023.
India and Australia both have strong teams and have some formidable names up their ranks. The Indian cricket team will be hoping to lay their hands on the first international world event silverware since the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
Just like the WTC finals can provide a solid platform to a lot of players to prove their mettle, it can also make a player’s career finish. As the entire world will be glued to the screens during this high-octane final, the pressure on the players becomes huge.
In this article, we take a look at 3 Indian players whose Test careers might end if they have a bad WTC final:
1. Ajinkya Rahane
After a few abysmal performances, Ajinkya Rahane was dropped from the Indian Test side post the South Africa vs India Test series in the beginning of 2022. He waited for his opportunity and he finally staged a comeback into the team after a few good knocks in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
But if Ajinkya Rahane fails to have a good match, India might drop him again. This is because the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan are in the pipeline and they have been performing consistently.
2. KS Bharat
India already has a good wicket-keeper in Rishabh Pant and after he comes back from his injury layoff, he will automatically be drafted into the side as the first-choice keeper of India. In his absence, KS Bharat was given a chance in the Border Gavaskar Test Series 2023.
The wicket-keeper batter from Andhra Pradesh failed to live up to his expectations. He scored only 101 runs in 4 games and had a paltry average of 20.2.
3. Rohit Sharma
One of the players of India who has been under the scanner in recent times for his poor form has been skipper Rohit Sharma. Ever since he took over the baton of captaincy, his form has been horrendous and he has not been able to deliver the match-winning performances which he did before.
If Rohit fails in this game, he might decide to call it quits from this format. Rohit Sharma isn’t the fittest cricketer in the Indian cricket team and always struggles with fitness. Giving up on the physically demanding format of Test cricket might make him play well in the shorter formats of the game.
Also read: WTC 2023: 3 Reasons Why Steve Smith Might Pose As A Threat To India
