WTC Final: Virat Kohli, Siraj among first batch of players to leave for UK, India unlikely to play tour game
WTC Final: Kohli, Siraj among first batch of players to leave for UK - Sources
Royal Challengers Bangalore duo of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj are among the first batch of Indian players who will fly to the UK for the 2023 World Test Championship Final against Australia, scheduled to take place in London on June 7.As per PTI, the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, alongside seamer Shardul Thakur will also be on that flight to England, with Rahul Dravid-led coaching and support staff also part of it.
As reported by the Indian Express, the remaining two players from the first set of seven are seamers Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat - both of whom are recovering from respective injuries they suffered during IPL 2023. As per the report, this set of players and staff will leave during the wee hours on Tuesday.
“There will be two or three departures in total. The first batch leaves at 4:30 am tomorrow,” said a BCCI source, as quoted in the Indian Express.
Ofthe remaining members of India’s 15-man squad for the 2023 WTC Final, seven of them – all of whom are participating in the IPL playoffs, including captain Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, K S Bharat and Ajinkya Rahane, will join in later.
On the other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara, who is already in the UK playing in the County Championship for Sussex, will link up with the squad in London.
India to not play tour game ahead of WTC final
For those wondering, the Indian team will not be playing any tour game or a practice match ahead of the 2023 WTC final. As this is an ICC-related event and considering the County is ongoing, the ECB is not obliged to provide BCCI with a slot and a team for a practice match.
“Also, if we play against a select county XI, it will comprise mostly second-team or development squad players, as first-team players are not released during the championship. Playing against a weak opposition doesn’t help in quality practice,” a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Indian team, who last won an ICC trophy ten years back in 2013 – the Champions Trophy in England, finished second in the maiden WTC final against New Zealand two years ago. Though they have some injury concerns heading into the 2023 WTC Final this time, the Rohit Sharma-led side will fancy theirchances of beating the mighty Aussies at a neutral venue and ending the drought.
India's 15-man squad for 2023 WTC Final -
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, MohammedShami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat andIshan Kishan (wk)
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