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India’s chances of reaching World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final have been hurt by the historic series defeat to New Zealand which marked an end to their long-running home domination. India need four wins in remaining six matches to ensure they don’t reply on permutations and combinations to reach their third consecutive WTC final. Ahead of the third and final Test of the series at Wankhede Stadium, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said that the group has not been ‘narrow-minded’. He also confirmed that there are no additions to the squad.
"No additions to the squad. Every week is critical every day is critical. We have not been narrow minded in thinking about WTC final. We want to focus on this match,” Nayar said in the pre-match press conference on October 30.
Ahead of the third Test, 22-year-old pacer Harshit Rana was called to the camp. It was speculated that he may play in the third Test but he is only there as a net bowler. Recently, he bagged a five-wicket haul and scored a half-century for Delhi against Assam in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash at home. He was part of the travelling reserves for the ongoing Test series. Next month, he will travel to Australia as he is part of 18-member Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 squad.
Nayar opened up on chatter around Indian team asking for a rank turner at Wankhede Stadium. He backed senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who have been working hard in practice sessions but are yet to get a big score in the Test series.
“We wish we could curate the pitches but we don't. As cricketers, we try to play on what is given. Everyone has worked hard whether it is Virat or Rohit or Shubman. They are putting in their hard yards. Sometimes it is about having patience,” the former Mumbai cricketer said.
India, New Zealand’s previous Test clash at Wankhede
India will look to avoid a clenasweep in the series and boost their chances of reaching the WTC final before boarding the flight to Australia. The last time the two sides went up against each other at Wankhede Stadium was in December 2021. Ajaz Patel created history with 10 wickets in an innings but India ended up winning the Test by a huge margin of 372 runs.
