ICC WTC Final: The rivalry between India and Australia has taken the next step. The two cricketing giants have been engaged in staggering games of late in Test cricket and have given their fans immense joy. However, there’ll be new spice to the rivalry this time as they will lock horns in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. The mega event will take place at the Oval, England from the 7th to the 11th of June and it remains to be seen who will emerge at the top this time around.
ICC WTC Final: Ricky Ponting picks Ishan Kishan as X factor for India in WTC Final
With the ICC WTC Final around the corner, former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has picked X factor for India in an all-important clash against Australia in England. He feels that young Ishan Kishan might turn up the game for India
There has been a lot of speculation about who will keep wickets for India in the ICC WTC Final. Regular keeper, Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the tournament due to the accident he met with and in his absence, it was expected that team management might ask KL Rahul to keep wickets as it’ll strengthen their batting lineup.
But to worsen the case more, KL Rahul also got injured and ruled out of the ICC WTC Final. The batter had an injury in the ongoing IPL 2023 and underwent surgery and will be unavailable for the next few months. In his place, BCCI drafted Ishan Kishan to the team.
However, it’ll be a big headache for team management to play who is a keeper in the team. KS Bharat might be vulnerable with the bat against the moving ball but his keeping skills are second to none. Ishan Kishan however brings something similar to what Rishabh offered as he can attack from the ball 1 and is also decent with the gloves behind the stumps.
Ricky Ponting backed Ishan Kishan to be the keeper for India in the WTC Final. He said that the left-hander might prove out to be an X factor for the team as they might need him to win the game in the last day or so. Speaking on ICC review, he said:
“I’d pick Ishan Kishan. If you want to be crowned the world champion, you have to win the game. Hence why there is a sixth day that has been added to try and give both teams the best chance of a result. I’d be going with Ishan Kishan if I was them in this game.
“I think it just provides that little bit of X-factor that you might need when pushing for a win in a Test match. (Kishan) will do a good job with the gloves, but can provide that really high-scoring run rate that might be required in a one-off Test match to try and push for a win.”
ICC WTC Final: Indian and Australia squad for ICC World Test Championship Final
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