The Indian cricket team kept the core of the side that achieved success against Australia and England and there were a few surprises.
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The Indian cricket team selected the squad for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand as well as the five Tests against England. India will play New Zealand in the final on June 18 in Southampton. The five Tests will be played from August 4 till September 14. In a press release by the BCCI, all the players who were injured in the series against Australia are included. Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma all have made a comeback.
The squad has a few notable absentees: Hardik Pandya, the seam-bowling all-rounder misses out. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned from long-standing injury problems during the IPL recently further find themselves sidelined.
Rohit Sharma will be partnered by Shubman Gill at the top. The rest of the batting remains the same with Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Vihari and Rishabh Pant being the middle order. The batting department certainly seems quite solid, considering the presence of some of the best in the business.
Rohit will be one of the players to watch out for, considering his ability to emerge as a game-changer in the toughest of circumstances. The opener will be looking to make his presence felt in this crucial encounter, having already showcased his capabilities when it matters the most in the ICC World Cup 2019. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant will further dominate the limelight, for obvious reasons. While Virat can be nearly impossible to dismiss on his day, Rishabh can turn the tide of a game single-handedly as visible during the recently concluded Test series in Australia.
Kane Williamson and Joe Root will be the cricketers expected to grab the limelight with their performances in the New Zealand and England squads. Williamson is one of the best in the longest format, and steps up under pressure. He will be looking to lead the Black Caps on to a triumph in the final of the maiden edition of the WTC. Devon Conway could also emerge as a game-changer for NZ, considering the immense talent he enjoys. Root showcased his capabilities in the away series against India, emerging as a top-performer in the opening Test. Jonny Bairstow will be dangerous on home turf, considering the damage he is capable of.
India finished as the number one team with 72.2 percentage points in the WTC points table, the factor that determined the final placings rather than total points won, following a change to the points system owing to the COVID-19 disruption. New Zealand were the first team to ensure a place in the final with 70 percentage points. Australia finished third with 69.2 percentage points while England ended with 61.4 percentage points and in fourth position.
There are four standby players in Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Arzan Nagwaswalla and Avesh Khan. Two of the most interesting inclusions have been that of Abhimanyu and Arzan.
Abhimanyu’s gameplay is considered a mix of Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.
The young cricketer plays with a high elbow, looks to present a full face of the bat along with a solid textbook technique. Those are attributes that definitely pay tribute to Rahul Dravid’s grit and determination. Abhimanyu looks to carry on after completing a ton with the desire of emerging as a match-winner. He further relishes an opportunity to step up on big occasions, as evident from the match-winning innings in the final of the 2019 Duleep Trophy.
The cricketer’s ruthlessness and hunger to excel would certainly get a nod from approval from the Team India skipper. Abhimanyu is extremely calm and composed with a glorious ‘straight drive’ that he termed as his favourite shot. Ajinkya Rahane’s ability to remain cool under pressure reflected in India’s majestic Test series win in Australia.
“My sole focus is on delivering quality performances, having drawn inspiration from T Natarajan’s gameplay in the tour of Australia after being handed an opportunity. It will be important to remain consistent, disciplined along with a strong emphasis on adapting to different conditions effectively. Having received insights from Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and VVS Laxman with regard to English conditions, I am confident about stepping up and getting the job done,” said Easwaran in an exclusive chat.
The inclusion of 23-year old Arzan Nagwaswalla has further raised a few eyebrows.
In his two-year domestic career, Nagwaswalla has played 16 first-class games. He has taken 62 wickets at an average of 22. In the 2018/19 season, he took 37 wickets which included a five-wicket haul against Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium. The left-arm pacer was Gujarat’s leading wicket-taker during their run to the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 semifinal, accounting for 41 wickets at an average of 18.36.
“I could not believe my ears. Felt like a dream. In 10-15 seconds, my entire journey till now flashed before my eyes. It is really hard to digest and believe, honestly. It will take some time to think about this as a reality. I was travelling back home when information trickled in about the much-awaited call-up. This was followed by me informing my parents about the news, leaving them all happy and speechless. When I reached home, some of my friends were there. We cut a cake,” said the pacer.
“The same was followed by calls from relatives as well as journalists, which stretched up to four hours. I never expected an opportunity with the national team at such an early stage in my career. The sole objective was to perform well, with the hope that it would result in something positive in the future,” added Arzan.
The left-arm pacer is the first Parsi cricketer to break into the Indian men’s team since 1975.
“I was familiar with this. When I was playing Ranji Trophy, people used to tell me that bahot saalo se koi Parsi cricketer India ke liye khela nahi. It is something like giving back to the community. I am very happy.”
After the end of the ICC World Test Championship final, India will play five Tests. The venues will be Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Leeds, The Oval and Manchester.
India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).
Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
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