‘When you have to play such a big match, you'd want some mileage’ – Sunil Gavaskar sends chilling warning to Australia while backing India's preparations for WTC Final

After two years of gruelling Test cricket, the two best teams India and Australia will face each other in the Final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023 (WTC). The hype and excitement for the summit clash have certainly reached their peak as the fans and cricket experts alike have made their predictions regarding who will come out victorious. In the same vein, the Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar feels that Team India are better placed in comparison to their rivals Australia for claiming the WTC final.

Gavaskar backed his statement with the simple logic that the Australian players have not played a lot of cricket coming into the finals. Hence, one needs match practice for such big matches. Sunil Gavaskar even said that the Indian team certainly has valuable on-the-field game experience, as maximum players were part of the recently concluded, Indian Premier League 2023.

“The Australian players have played absolutely no cricket of late. When you have to play such a big match, you'd want some mileage. The Indian players have that mileage as they have played. Everyone has played," Gavaskar said.

Furthermore, the legendary Indian opener even pointed out that Cheteshwar Pujara who was not part of the IPL 2023, played in the County Championship. Pujara was in sublime form in the series scoring 545 runs in the eight innings at an average of 64.80 meanwhile scoring three centuries. 

"Cheteshwar Pujara, who wasn't a part of the IPL, played the County Championship, hitting hundreds for fun. The others have also played a lot of crickets. I believe that the Indian team is better prepared,” the Indian legend told Sports Tak.

Sunil Gavaskar backs Indian bowlers to do well in the WTC Final

The cricketer-turned-commentator also said that the likes of Mohammed Shami as well as Mohammed Siraj will certainly dominate in the overcast conditions, way more when compared to the Australian pair, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.  The 73-year-old also backed the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as they have wickets under their belt on a regular basis for India. Therefore, in totality, the Indian bowling lineup looks more settled for the final summit.

“How will the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood find their rhythm as they don't have any mileage? On the other hand, we saw how Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj bowled in the IPL," Gavaskar said.