WTC final: Ravi Shastri names his India XI for summit clash against Australia

Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri named his India XI for the eagerly-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final against Australia. The two fierce rivals are all set to lock horns for the prestigious mace at The Oval in London, starting June 7.

Ahead of the crucial one-off Test against the Aussies, Shastri reckons that team India’s combination would be largely based on the English weather. He believes that the think tank would include two spinners and two pacers to strike a balance in the conditions in England.

“If the track is hard and dry, you would want two spinners to play for sure. I think it goes a lot with the weather in England. I believe it's sunny now at the moment, but you know, English weather, how it can change in the month of June. So, there's a very good chance India will go with two spinners, two fast bowlers and an all-rounder. That will be the combination,” said Shastri on ‘The ICC Review’.

“And then there'll be five batsmen and the wicket-keeper, so six batsmen. So, if all conditions stay normal at The Oval, then this would be my combination, but you've got to have the quality to be able to put those guys out in the park,” he added.

Rahane has earned his place in that WTC side: Shastri

With the exclusion of KL Rahul, who is ruled out due to an injury to his right thigh, team India is likely to back Shubman Gill to open with skipper Rohit Sharma. In addition to that, Shastri backed Ajinkya Rahane to feature in the XI, citing his impressive batting display in the ongoing IPL 2023.

“The way he's timed the ball, the way he's looking at T20 from a different perspective. It just goes to show (what happens) when you go through the grind, you go back to domestic cricket. He's earned his place in that World Test Championship side. Now you'll have to see closer to the event what the final XI will be,” he added.

Shastri’s India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj