WTC Final: 'Collective team effort led us here, boys are excited to face Australia,' says Rohit Sharma
Rohit lauds collective team effort over 2 years as India gear up for WTC Final
For the second straight time, the Indian Cricket Team reached the finals of the World Test Championship, having previously lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in the inaugural edition two years ago in Southampton. India edged past South Africa in a tight race for the second spot following a 2-1 win over ranked-first side Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series early this year.
With most players currently involved in the IPL 2023 playoffs, seven of the 15-man squad had already flown to the UK for the WTC Final 2023, which starts on June 7th at Oval, London.
Meanwhile, speaking ahead of the high-octane clash against Australia, Indian captain Rohit Sharma shared his thoughts on the side's successful run to the top and how they coped with the 2021 loss at the hands of Kiwis.
“After the World Test Championship (2021 final) in Southampton, we quickly had to regroup and get ready for the next cycle,” Rohit said in a video posted by BCCI on its website.
“I thought in that cycle, we played some really, really tough cricket. We were challenged a lot of times, and I thought to come out of that was obviously going to take a lot of character from not just a few individuals, but everyone.”
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Absentees must get credited for this successful run
India's run to the top in this WTC cycle saw several match-winning performances from a few individuals that are not available now. As per Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara - who is currently plying his trade in the County Championship, and Ravi Ashwin, they need to be thanked for their efforts.
Considering India is missing services of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer - all of whom are nursing respective injuries and are out for an indefinite period, Pujara said they must be credited, alongside everyone in the team, for the collective effort that led the side to this point.
“There have been many players who have contributed to the team. Some of them are not part of this squad currently, but it’s important that we recognise all the players that have contributed in this cycle,” Pujara said.
“It’s been a great team effort… the team management, captain, everyone has been looking forward to this moment where we qualify for the WTC finals and the guys are really excited to play at The Oval. We’ve got some good memories playing against England in UK. Overall, if I look at the last couple of years, it’s been a very good journey for the Indian Test team,” Ravi Ashwin added.
Meanwhile, the second batch of Indian players will fly after the end of IPL 2023, which finishes with the final on May 28th.
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