‘Time for real cricket now’- Fans react as Test specialists knocked out of IPL playoffs leave for WTC Final in England
The Test Championship final will be held in England at the Oval.
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May 22, 2023 5:01 pm
Indian Test Team (Source: Twitter)
As the 2023 playoffs come to a close, A core group of the Indian Test Team consisting of Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat as per reports are to leave for England tomorrow. The group will leave for England for the Test Championship final. The final will be played between 7-11 f June at the Oval in England. England will play host to the final for a second time.
The four teams that have qualified for the playoffs are Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans. The players of these teams will still continue to play in the IPL for the last four matches. This includes the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and the like. England hosted the final in 2021 which took place against India and New Zealand where India lost the summit clash.
India lost the 2021 Test Championship final to England
The previous Test Championship final took place at Edgeston. The view about the pitch at the Oval is it will aid spin. The Indian squad also has three spinners in the mix. The final will take place between India and Australia where the Duke ball will be used. This ball will be used as the final is played in a neutral venue. This means that the SG ball or the Kookaburra ball will not be used. The Indian Test side will be without two pillars of the Test side.
These are Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant. Bumrah has a good record overseas and has been the trump card for India in seaming-friendly conditions all over the world. India will be without Pant. The Delhi batter has made the wicketkeeper’s slot his own. In addition to that he has been one of the most destructive batters for India in red-ball cricket. The left-hander has a century in England and Australia.
India will look to try and win the Test Championship final and end their drought in world events. They have not won world tournaments since 2013. The last won the Champions Trophy in 2013 under MS Dhoni’s leadership.
I want @imVkohli and team to win the mace this time. He may not hold the IPL trophy but he sure can raise the championship mace high up! Let's do this!
Virat, Siraj, Shardul etc should leave for England to prepare for WTC. As Rohit suggested after BGT, players who are not playing play offs should reach early.
