Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik opens the possible composition of India’s playing 11 in the World Test Championship 2021-23 final game.
DK on India’s Possible 11 For WTC 2023 Final
India and Australia will play the WTC 2021-23 final game on June 7–11, 2023 in The Oval, London.
India qualified for the WTC 2021-23 final match after the 4th Test of Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 ended in a draw. India won the series by 2-1. On the other hand, Australia qualified for the WTC 2023 Final match after defeating India in the 3rd Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
Though Ashwin and Jadeja were central to India’s success in the 4-match series, both of them might not get to feature in the WTC final as it will be played at the Oval in London. The two finished as the top wicket-takers, with Ashwin claiming 25 scalps and Jadeja 22.
Karthik even feels that skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid shouldn’t shy away from leaving one of Jadeja and Ashwin out from the playing XI in the final.
“To be brutally honest if everybody is fit, especially if Ashwin and Jadeja are fit, you will have to say that Axar will miss out. I think Shardul will take his place,” Karthik said on sports media.
“Absolutely (India might play either Ashwin or Jadeja). To be honest, that’s where the Indian team made a mistake last time playing both spinners and they didn’t bowl them much. It’s a one-off game. You can’t look at it in the bigger scheme of things.
It’s a year-end match for a lot of the players in many ways as after that there will be a fresh cycle. So you have to go into the match thinking ‘what is my best XI to win that game?’ If that means leaving Ashwin or Jadeja out, so be it. We’ve always seen Jadeja get the nod ahead because he can bat better,” Karthik asserted.
When it comes to overseas assignments, seeing both Ashwin and Jadeja in India’s playing XI is a rarity.
