BCCI finally announced the final playing XI of Team India that will take the field in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton. There was a big question on whether Team India will field two spinners or one on the green track of Ageas Bowl. However, BCCI’s announcement has given answers to all the questions by announcing the final playing XI ahead of the game.
Earlier, BCCI announced a 15-man squad for the WTC final leaving out several big names and stars including Mayank Agarwal, and KL Rahul. Now, they have announced the final XI that will play in the World Test Championship final.
BCCI Announces Team India’s Playing XI For World Test Championship Final
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have been picked as the preferred openers of Team India for the WTC final. The new opening pair did an amazing job in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 in Australia
In middle-order, Team India has the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane. They will be responsible for playing at their best against the Kiwi bowling line-up in order to give much-needed stability to the Indian team in the match.
The team management has shown their faith in Rishabh Pant due to his sensational batting form in red-ball cricket. He also scored a decent century in the intra-squad game that was played within Team India in their bid to prepare for the WTC final. This is why team management have picked young wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant, over experienced Wriddhiman Saha
Mohammed Shami also makes a comeback in the side after recovering from his injury. He missed out on a total of seven games due to a fracture in his arm. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma are the other two bowlers to get picked in the playing XI.
The most interesting decision taken by the team management is to pick Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI. There were talks going that India will probably go with one spinner and four pacers. But, Indian team management has taken a surprising decision by picking two spinners for the WTC final that will be played on a green top of The Ageas Bowl cricket ground.
The players that missed out on getting a spot in the final playing XI of Team India are Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj, and Wriddhiman Saha.
Team India XI For World Test Championship Final: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.
World Test Championship came into the picture back in 2019. All the Test-playing nations were involved in a stiff red-ball cricket battle in order to get their birth reserve in the maiden final of the WTC. In the end, India and New Zealand successfully managed to become the finalists of the championship on the back of their impressive show throughout the championship.
In the league stage, Team India finished as the table-toppers whereas New Zealand finished in 2nd position. Both the teams faced each other in a two-match Test series that was part of the ICC World Test Championship. In that series, the Kiwi side outclassed Team India with sheer dominance. Now, Virat Kohli & Co. will be looking to avenge the loss of their previous defeat by winning the maiden WTC trophy.
