The squads for the highly anticipated ICC World Test Championship final between Australia and India set to take place at The Oval, have been finalized. Both teams submitted their 15-player squads to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday. Australia made a couple of adjustments to their original 17-player squad, trimming it down to the final 15 that will face India in south London starting on June 7. Despite dealing with side pain during his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint, experienced seamer Josh Hazlewood has been included in Australia’s squad, leaving him in contention to play in the final.
There have been speculations that Michael Neser might replace Hazlewood if the latter is unable to recover from his injury in time for the match at The Oval. However, any revisions to Australia’s 15-man team due to injury or other reasons will require approval from the ICC technical committee. The standby players for Australia include all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw, while UK-based Australians Neser and Sean Abbott will also assist the squad during their preparations in London.
India, on the other hand, has made no changes to the 15-player squad they initially announced, apart from the withdrawal of KL Rahul due to injury. However, uncapped youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal has been called up as a standby player following his impressive performances in the IPL. Jaiswal, who represented the Rajasthan Royals, amassed 625 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 163.61. He replaces Ruturaj Gaikwad as one of the three standby players for India. Gaikwad, having already obtained a visa for England, will be able to fly to London immediately if needed. The other standby options for India are white-ball star Suryakumar Yadav and uncapped seamer Mukesh Kumar, who will join the squad of 15 in London in the coming days.
The squads for both teams are filled with experienced and talented players, setting the stage for a highly-anticipated contest between two cricketing powerhouses. The Australia squad includes players like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, and David Warner, while India’s squad boasts the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravindra Jadeja. With the final squads now confirmed, both teams will intensify their preparations as they aim to claim the inaugural ICC World Test Championship title.
