World Test Championship (WTC) 2023

 Match Details

Updated: Raghunath Nair

Date: 24/05/2023

In two weeks the second World Test Championship (WTC) will be held at the Oval.

The World Test Championship final is the last stop after a two-year wait for all teams to showcase their consistent performance at the Test level, playing to accumulate points and reach the top 2 positions in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table to qualify for the finals

This is the second Championship in the newly introduced ICC trophy. India played the last World Test Championship (WTC) finals against New Zealand. India lost the finals due to some very poor decisions made on the field and lost a golden opportunity to add to their 2 ODI World Cup, 1 T20 World Cup and 1 Champions trophy

India has again qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) finals in the 2023 edition and will play Australia at the Oval. India has been a consistent team in the Test matches and another opportunity presents itself to win the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).

Rohit Sharma will lead the team for the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC)

While the Indian Premier League (IPL) will end this week, the Indian team members who are not part of the balance matches of the IPL have already flown to England to get acclimatized.

While the Australian team is already in England playing warm-ups and preparing for the Ashes and the all-important World Test Championship, Indian Players will hardly have any time to be match ready when the finals begin.

There is no better practice than Match practice and due to paucity of time, Indian Team will not get to play any warm-up matches before the Championship.

The Indian team management has already expressed concerns over what it perceives as a lack of preparation for the World Test Championship (WTC) final to be played at The Oval from June 7.

India and Australia haven’t played a test since their last series earlier this year.

While the IPL is not the ideal platform to prepare for test matches, the batsmen gains during the IPL as they face competitive bowling daily for almost 3 months. It is however not the ideal preparation for the bowlers as practicing test length bowling, and bowling long spells for a five-day format is different.

BCCI Bizarre dictate to the Indian Test Bowlers

With 74 games in the Indian Premier League, teams play almost every second day and travel from one match venue to the other. With this cramped schedule, comes a bizarre dictate from the team management to the Indian test bowlers (playing the IPL), to increase their practice load by sending down longer spells in the nets to prepare for the World Test Championship final. Indian Test Bowlers were also told to practice with the red ball during the Indian Premier League (IPL) to keep themselves ready for the Test matches.

This was not only bizarre but also amusing.  Not an Ideal way to prepare for a World Cup final or was it just an eyewash to keep the press quiet?

The Injury List for Team India keeps mounting

Injuries have haunted the Indian team. KL Rahul is out injured while Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are also unavailable. Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat got injured during the Indian Premier League and will also be doubtful to be part of the squad. Umesh Yadav has declared that he is fir but Jaydev Unadkat is still nursing his injury

AUS vs IND ICC World Test Championship Final Match Preview

Match Preview

On paper, the Australian team looks the stronger team as compared to the Indian team. Injuries have hampered the Indian team to field their best eleven and they have only themselves to blame

Australia has included David Warner in their 17-member squad which will also be the squad for the first two Ashes Test Matches to be played at Edgbaston and Lords soon after the World Test Championship. 15 players from these 17 will be included in the World Test Championship

David Warner had a poor IPL as a player and as captain of the Delhi Franchise. He comes back into the Australian Test team after recovering from a hairline fracture. He may be short of confidence too.

Opting to not participate in this year’s Indian Premier League to prepare for the World Test Championship and the Ashes, the Australian Captain, Pat Cummins will also make a comeback to the team.

Australian batting revolves around Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja. David Warner’s return just puts the batting squad from a good to a dangerous batting unit.

Australians would love to see Warner play freely and give the team a quick start. The inclusion of Cameroon Green gives Pat Cummins the option to play the extra batter or bowler as per conditions.

Nathan Lyon may be the only spinner used for this match. His experience may come in handy when the team requires wickets or to keep the run rate under check.

In the pace attack, Australia will go as favorites as their trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood will be a handful in the Oval conditions.

England’s condition will suit the Australians but being a neutral venue, the pitch will stay true for the entire 5 days of the Test match

Australia Team too is in the process of building up their squad and will re-evaluate their squad after the first 2 Ashes test.

While the preparedness of the Indian team is not ideal, experienced players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play positively and play their shots in the true wicket of the Oval. Cheteshwar  Pujara is the only player getting decent match practice with the red ball as he is currently playing for Sussex in the English County Championship. This  will be a huge plus for team India as he would also be the only batsman with Dukes ball practice for a reasonable time now

The Inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane makes him a great replacement for the injured KL Rahul. His record is very good in England, which will be to his advantage but we must remember that Ajinkya Rahane is making a comeback after being dropped due to poor form. His inclusion will be a great advantage while fielding, as he is probably the best slip fielder in the country. India can ill afford to drop slip catches as they did in the previous test series

All eyes will be on the new Poster boy, Shubman Gill who would likely open up with Rohit Sharma and his current form in the IPL will be a huge plus for team India.

While Australia has Cameroon Green, the unavailability of Hardik Pandya hurts India, especially with the absence of Rishab Pant.

If the Oval Pitch has spin in it, India will rely heavily on their spinners, Ravichandra Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Indian Pace bowling will go with the reliable Mohammad Shami leading the pack with Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav.

Team Formation: India Should play to their Strength and play a 3 pacer, 2 spinner formation

Neutral Ground and Dukes Ball for the World Test Championship 

The Oval ground will not favor any one side in this clash and both teams will feel the conditions neutral. Even though there have been several complaints in the past with the Dukes ball (as it loses its shape too quickly), ICC has confirmed that the Dukes ball will be used for the Championship game

India uses SG balls while Australia uses the Kookaburra balls in their respective home games

India World Test Championship Final Squad:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Australia World Test Championship Final Squad:

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

Indian Final Qualifying Situation for the World Test Championship 2023

Australians traditionally have played with the minds of the opponents and a mentally strong Indian team should be able to be resilient. This is the biggest change in the Indian team over the past 5-8 years which has consistently kept them at the top of the test rankings. Their ability to win overseas is because of this mental resilience and will also play a huge role in this world test championship too.

Australia playing in England conditions may be a tough challenge for the Indian players

Super Sports Predictions :

Australia has 60% chance of a win and become

World Test Champion 

Prize Money: World Test Championship

The World Test Championship is set to begin from June 7^th to June 11^th. The winners of the World Test Championship Final 2023 will be awarded $1.6 million, while the runners-up will receive $800,000. In case of a tie or a draw, both teams will share the prize money, receiving $1.2 million each. Below are the details of the upcoming WTC finals.

World Test Championship Final 2023: Live Streaming

The WTC Final 2023 will be broadcast live on various television worldwide

In India, the finals will be broadcasted live on Star Sports Network, including Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD, and Star Sports Hindi.

Frequently Asked Question

• When will the World Test Championship be played
  • The Championship test match will be played on June 7, 2023.

• Which Stadium will host the World Test Championship
  • The World Test Championship will be played in the Oval, London