ICC WTC Finals: Indian Vice-Captain Ajinkya Rahane left hints on possible team combinations for WTC Final.
ICC WTC Finals: Team India’s red-ball vice-captain on Tuesday dropped a couple of hints on the possible team combination that will be fielded for the marquee final of the ICC World Test Championship.
India and New Zealand will come head and shoulders against each other on June 18, which is only two sleep away from there, at Ageas Bowl, Southampton for the final clash.
The winner of the clash will bag the coveted Test Mace along with the hefty price of $1.6 Million. The runner up will have to console themselves with prize money of $800,000.
While addressing in the pre-match video conference, Ajinkya Rahane said although the team management is yet to call out for the final playing 11, an extra batsman will be a key in these English conditions.
“In England, batsmen play an important role given the conditions. They will be the deciding factor as bowlers will find it difficult to bowl if the ground becomes wet,” Rahane said during the pre-match virtual conference.
The weather forecast in Southampton from June 18 to 22 doesn’t seem soothing as there are high chances that the showers will be there. The forecast also predicted that there will be thunderstorms in Southampton on June 18 and 19 with 80 per cent chances of rain.
The fans across the globe tuning in for the clash will definitely not be happy with the forecast and would want to escape. The ICC, as a precautionary measure, has assigned an extra day on June 23 to make up for any lost time.
“The weather in England is unpredictable. And therefore we have not yet picked out eleven. We will take two more practice sessions and see what kind of pitch is prepared before taking a call,” Rahane said.
Surface full of Pace, Bounce and Swing:
Simon Lee, the pitch curator for the marquee final, is planning to have some fun by making a surface that will be full of pace, bounce and swing (of course). In England, adapting to swinging deliveries has been key and the surface will be effective for the slow bowlers who give extra time to the ball to remain in the air and produce swing.
“Slow bowlers will be key. Adapting to them will be important in England as there will be a lot swing,” he said.
Rahane further stated that they want to take it as any other test game and don’t want to take any pressure as of now.
“We just want to take it like any other game. New Zealand is a good side so don’t want to take them lightly. We will continue to enjoy the game and take it one session at a time”.
India’s predicted playing11 for the final of the ICC World Test Championship:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
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