ICC WTC Final: The ultimate Test is finally here as India and Australia would go neck to neck with each other in the ICC World Test Championship Final. After toiling hard for two years, the two cricketing giants earned their place in the final and there’s one common goal for them both and that is to win the championship. The mega event will take place at the Oval, England from the 7th to the 11th of June. Both the teams would be eager to bag the ICC trophy in the purest format of the game and it’s fair to say that it’ll be a great game.
ICC WTC Final: “It’s very insular,” Mathew Hayden decodes why India hasn’t won’t ICC Trophy since 2013
The World Test Championship Final will be another great opportunity for Indian Cricket Team to end their hunt for the ICC Trophy. Since 2013, they haven’t won any trophy and have suffered a lot of flak for their performances. It’s not like they have not played well but have failed to step on the pressure situations.
After winning the Champions trophy in 2013, India lost Cricket World Cups in 2015, and 2019, the Champions Trophy in 2017, World Test Championship in 2021 and T20 World Cups in 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022. They have dominated the league stages in all these tournaments but have succumbed to pressure in the knockout stages.
Mathew Hayden decoded why India is not winning ICC tournaments. He said that there’s no question of skill as it’s a mindset issue for them. He pointed out that cricket is religion and there’s a lot of pressure on players. Speaking to PTI, he said:
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“It’s certainly not a question of skill. So, it has to be a question of just the opportunity and the mindset going in. I mean, cricket is life here, it is the DNA of sport and has no other competitors. In Australia, I could walk down the street and largely be unrecognised, especially with this terrible beard and hat on (laughs).
“But it’s also got great competitive sports besides cricket. Rugby, football, our watersports, surfing, outdoor sports, here in India it’s very insular and there’s a lot of pressure.”
ICC WTC Final: Squads for Both India and Australia
Here’s the Indian squad for the ICC WTC Final
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
Here’s the Australian squad for the ICC WTC Final
Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner