'They've got no choice...': Australia great issues 'extreme transition' warning to IPL stars ahead of WTC final

Many of the Indian players and a few in the Australian setup come into the decisive one-off Test on the back of a gruelling IPL season.

India and Australia clash in the decisive World Test Championship final at The Oval starting on Wednesday. Interestingly, a number of players from both sides, particularly within the Indian team, were involved in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) right before the match and it means that those players will have to transition quickly to Test cricket mode, having played the shortest format of the game for over two months.

India's Mohammed Shami with Virat Kohli during practice at The Oval (Action Images via Reuters)

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson is someone who knows about the challenges of adapting to Test cricket after getting used to the T20 routine. Watson ended his professional career as one of the biggest stars in the IPL with his big hitting at the top of the order helping Chennai Super Kings win titles. At his peak though, Watson was integral in all formats for Australia as an all-rounder, even captaining the team in one Test. Watson scored 3731 runs in 59 Tests with four centuries and took 75 wickets.

"There's no doubt that this transition period for the guys I think is going to have to be extreme. Get as much volume as they possibly can facing new balls, trying to get the nets as spiced up as possible. That's the only way you can get your game back into hitting the ball under your eyes. Yes, you need that positive, aggressive intent but still understanding what balls you can score off and what balls are higher risk," said Watson on ESPNCricinfo.

"For me, the biggest thing came down to most importantly my defense," he continued. “I ended up having to just work on facing the moving ball, making sure I was batting against bowlers with the moving ball or was getting throws against the moving ball and then just making sure I was locking in with my defence.”

Watson said that fast bowlers will face the challenge of getting themselves to bowl with fatigue, something that they won't normally feel in a T20 match where they only bowl a maximum of four overs.

"My body was always a challenge building up workloads at the best of times. Going from T20 cricket intensity with not a lot of fatigue compared to having to try and get your body up and get used to bowling a bit more with fatigue, that was always a challenge for me anyway. So I was always very careful and tried to map it out as much as I could.

“But obviously, it's a really quick turnaround for a few of the bowlers in particular. Again, it's going to be sink or swim. They've got no choice. They've just got to throw themselves into it and hope that their bodies can hold up and the captains are able to manage the bowlers who are going into playing this Test without a lot of work under their belt,” said Watson.