'Two years of hard work to get here, with many ups and downs' - Rahul Dravid speaks on India's plans ahead of WTC 2023 Final

The forthcoming weekend will hold a lot of surprises as India and Australia square off in an ICC title game, the World Test Championship 2023, which is scheduled to begin on June 7 at The Oval in London. Preparations have been going on in full force as both teams eye to get their hands on the Test mace and emerge as the best Test team in the world.

In the previous edition of the World Test Championship, India made it to the summit clash but lost their chance after losing to New Zealand. The defending champions could not make it further this time, but India managed to make their way for the second consecutive time. On the other hand, the Pat Cummins-led Australian side will be playing their first-ever WTC final.

Ahead of the all-important clash, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid attended a press conference and shed light on the Rohit Sharma-led side’s performances and hard work throughout the current cycle. He also spoke about Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara’s current form, and how his recent experience of playing County Championship on the English soil will benefit the Indian side.

“We are excited and looking forward to it. It has been two years of hard work to get here, with many ups and downs. You aspire to be in top two teams so that you get to play this match,” Dravid said while addressing the media in the pre-match press conference.

“We have had conversations with Pujji not only in batting but also on a lot of things because he captains Sussex. He is aware of the fact that he has to keep playing cricket even though he has played a lot of it, except the IPL. It is not easy to be a single-format player. I was one during the fag end of my career,” Dravid added.

Rahane has led India to a considerable amount of success: Dravid

The upcoming clash will also see Ajinkya Rahane returning to the Indian side. The veteran Test batter had been out of India’s scheme of things since January 2022, but after his prolific outings in Ranji Trophy while playing for Mumbai, followed by his stunning comeback in white-ball (IPL) saw him find a place in India’s squad. Speaking of Rahane’s inclusion and India’s preparations, he said:

“He is a good slip fielder, and has led India to a considerable amount of success. Australia and England have played a lot of Tests. We have too played a lot. I would like to see more Tests being played going forward. Cricket is usually played at the end of the summer in England as stats, data suggest. Wickets are more tired, and different. But we have to react to it and we hope we have those resources and abilities to do so.”