Published: Jun 05, 2023, 11:38 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 05, 2023, 11:38 AM (IST)
New Delhi: The World Test Championship is just two days away. India and Australia will face each other in the final showdown of WTC 2023. Australia finished at the top of the WTC 2021–23 points table with 66.67 points per cent (PCT) in 19 Tests. Whereas with 58.8 PCT, India finished in second place. It is the second consecutive time India has managed to get the better of Australia.
In a recent interview with Starsports, legendary player Sunil Gavaskar revealed his playing XI for the game against Australia.
“I will talk about the batting and that will be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as one-two. No. 3 is (Cheteshwar) Pujara, No. 4 is (Virat) Kohli, No. 5 is Ajinkya Rahane. No. 6 is where there is just a little bit of a concern,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
He further predicted that the selectors will pick KS Bharat over twenty-four-year-old Ishan Kishan, as Bharat has played all the Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches.
“I would imagine No. 6 would be either (Srikar) Bharat or Ishan Kishan. They are talking about Bharat because he has played all these matches so far. So will probably stick with Bharat at six,” Gavaskar observed. Talking about the pace bowling attack of the Asian giants, the former India skipper asserted that seamer Shardul Thakur can complement the fast bowling duo of Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj in the final. “No. 7 will be (Ravindra) Jadeja. If it’s a bright day and a bright prediction, then I think you are looking at Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin at No. 7 and No. 8. No. 9, 10 and 11 will be Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and maybe Shardul Thakur,” Gavaskar added.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh feels India should hand Ishan a debut and called him a direct replacement for Rishabh Pant.
“Why Ishan Kishan should be considered ahead of Bharat?
“I think this will add more strength to batting as Ishan Kishan can tackle the new ball much better than Bharat. He is an opener too and is in good form. So if the second new ball is introduced after 80 overs and Ishan walks out to bat he can play as an opener.
“Rishabh Pant is an explosive batter and Ishan also has the same quality. Although Bharat is superb behind the wickets, I don’t have much confidence in Bharat’s batting,” said Harbhajan.
