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Cricket PlayersHe came in place of Ravindra Jadeja and it never felt like Jadeja was out: Parthiv on India's strong squad for WTC final
While comparing India's squad with New Zealand, with regards to the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Parthiv Patel remarked that India possesses a balanced squad and a lethal pace unit.
Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel is very confident that the Indian cricket team has a strong chance of winning the World Test Championship (WTC) title. He is convinced that Virat Kohli's men have all the bases covered and that they look like a better squad than fellow finalists New Zealand.
Earlier in May, BCCI announced a jumbo, 20-member squad for England. They also named four standbys that will travel with the team. India is slated to lock horns with NZ on June 18 in Southampton. From August onwards, the side will be involved in a five-match Test series against England.
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While speaking on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Parthiv remarked that India possesses a balanced squad and with a lethal pace unit.
"I think it looks a really strong squad. If you want to compare India and New Zealand squad, we have covered all the bases. If you talk about fast bowlers, we have got [Jasprit] Bumrah, Ishant [Sharma] and [Mohammed] Shami," said Patel.
In the 11 Test that Shami has featured in with fellow pacers Ishant and Bumrah, the trio has picked 149 wickets. The former India wicket-keeper added that the squad has excellent seam bowling backups in the form of Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav.
"If either of them is not fit, then there is Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, enough depth in the squad," observed Parthiv Patel.
The southpaw also spoke about a solid batting line-up.
"If you talk about batsmen - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant. There are proper batsmen who can bat well in England. Everyone has got runs and there is a spare batsman in KL Rahul, imagine KL Rahul not finding a place in this Test squad. So, how strong this squad could be," said Patel.
The 36-year-old concluded by mentioning Ravindra Jadeja, who will return to the Test for the first time since sustaining a thumb injury in Australia in December 2020. Parthiv added that he will only make the spin department more lethal.
"Axar Patel, who was probably Man of the Series or Man of the Match in a lot of matches against England. He came in place of Ravindra Jadeja and it never felt like Ravindra Jadeja was out. Now Ravindra Jadeja will be back, Ashwin will be back. So, this squad looks really strong," signed off Parthiv Patel.
