India crashed to a humiliating defeat against Australia in the WTC final, at The Oval in London. The match, which took place from June 7-11, ended in the first session of Day 5. Having secured a 209-run victory, Australia had plenty of positives to take from the match, having dominated in all departments against a side who reached their second successive WTC final.
Steve Smith showed his class with a century in the first innings, smacking 121 runs off 268 balls. Meanwhile, Travis Head was at his stylish best in the first innings, hammering 163 off 174 deliveries. Meanwhile, the likes of Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon and Aussie captain Pat Cummins threatened Rohit Sharma and Co. to a huge extent.
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Pacers Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami could be considered to be the only bright spots for India in a rather one-sided final. After the defeat, many fans and experts have called for a complete revamp of the squad, which has failed to deliver in big matches, across all formats.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, India and RCB wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was asked if there needs to be a revamp of the Test squad, or if it's just that the younger regular members were missing due to injury. It is to be noted that Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul missed the WTC final due to injuries.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking on Cricbuzz, India and RCB wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was asked if there needs to be a revamp of the Test squad, or if it's just that the younger regular members were missing due to injury. It is to be noted that Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul missed the WTC final due to injuries.
{{/usCountry}}"I think a bit of both. In many ways we know that a lot of them are in their mid-30s. So few questions there for Rahul Dravid, who he wants to keep and who he wants to move on with. Now other names that you said, Bumrah, Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Pant. Iyer will walk into this team. Let's make it very obvious. I think they warrant a place in the team. In this cycle, they have been one of the key reasons, why we are sitting here and talking in England today because that's the kind of success they have helped India achieve", he said.
Naming players who could be slotted into the Test line-up, Karthik stated, "No. 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal. He has had a phenomenal domestic season. Are we going to find a place for him? No. 2 Sarfaraz Khan. Now that's been a big name doing the rounds for some time now in the middle order. If you want to fit him in, who are you going to leave out and then followed by the Mukesh Kumars and the rest of them, is there a place for a new medium pacer to come in and stamp his authority over a period of time? Are you going to give him that two-year cycle?"
The veteran cricketer also pointed out the weaknesses in India's bowling department. He revealed, "Let's be very honest. I think Shami and Siraj were very good. But Umesh and Shardul as bowlers weren't as effective as Dravid and Rohit would have thought it to be. So, yes Shardul contributed with the bat. But are we always going to look at him as a bowler who can bat or a pure all-rounder. I would think more as a bowler who can bat. And Umesh, where do you see him in the context of things?"
India lost the inaugural WTC 2019-21 final to New Zealand, which took place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. During that time, Kohli was India's skipper. India's senior players too failed to perform at The Oval. Captain Rohit was dismissed for only 15 off 26 balls in the first innings and fell for 43 runs off 60 deliveries in the second innings. Meanwhile, Kohli, who was in fine form in IPL 2023, was removed for 14 off 31 balls in the first innings and had to depart for 49 off 78 deliveries in the second innings. Pujara also repeated the same with scores of 14 and 27.