The BCCI on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the World Test Championship (WTC), which will take place at The Oval in June, and the predictions for the same have already started dropping. Despite the change in conditions, Rohit Sharma and Co. will head into the much-anticipated contest loaded with confidence having defeated Australia earlier this year at home.
India had then outplayed Australia in two of the four Tests, while Australia had won one. The final Test, which was played at a flat surface in Ahmedabad, had ended in a draw. Then India, especially the batters lower down the order (R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel) had done much of the heavy lifting, leaving the Kangaroos frustrated.
India's legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has predicted the same to happen in the Test championship, even claiming that the Indian batters will outplay the Aussies yet again.
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“I’m backing India to out-bat Australia because if you look at the Indian batting lineup, at number 8 we have (Ravichandran) Ashwin who has five Test hundreds and the Oval is generally a very good pitch to bat on. You win the toss, put up a big score on the first two days, then you don’t have to bat in the second innings,” noted Gavaskar while speaking to Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2023, where the ex-cricketer is a part of the commentary panel.
{{/usCountry}}“I’m backing India to out-bat Australia because if you look at the Indian batting lineup, at number 8 we have (Ravichandran) Ashwin who has five Test hundreds and the Oval is generally a very good pitch to bat on. You win the toss, put up a big score on the first two days, then you don’t have to bat in the second innings,” noted Gavaskar while speaking to Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2023, where the ex-cricketer is a part of the commentary panel.
{{/usCountry}}Gavaskar also had an advice to players bound for the WTC, suggesting them to leave early for England and get acclimatised to the English conditions.
“I know the IPL finishes on May 28, and the Test starts on June 7. I’d like to see those players from the teams who haven’t qualified to go to England a bit earlier, maybe even play against club sides. It will help them adjust to the conditions,” he said.
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India had reached the final of the inaugural edition of WTC in June 2021 but lost by eight wickets to New Zealand in a rain-hit contest in Southampton. However, the team will aim for an improved show this time around and look to finally end the ICC Trophy drought.