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In order to be better prepared for the challenges in England, a country that will host the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Indian bowlers will practice with Duke ball during the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The WTC final will be played between India and Australia at The Oval in London between June 7-June 11. The reason Indian bowlers will have the option to train with the Duke ball is that in England Test matches are played with the Duke ball rather than the SG ball which is used for Test matches in India.
The Indian players will have a very narrow window of nine days between the completion of IPL 2023 and the start of the WTC final. India captain Rohit Sharma, after the completion of the Border-Gavaskar series, reflected on the challenges of acclimatising to English conditions in a short period of time.
"It’s quite critical for us. We will be in constant touch with our players, who are going to be part of the WTC final, and monitor their workload. In fact, we are sending some Duke balls to all the fast bowlers as well, if they get some time to bowl with that. But again, it all depends on the individuals and it’s not that the guys who are going to be part of the WTC finals are not the guys who have not played in the UK," the Indian skipper said on March 13 (Monday).
"I believe in preparation and it is going to be the key for us ahead of the final. Around May 21st, there will be six teams who would possibly be out of the IPL. So, whichever players are available, we will try and find some time to see if they can reach the UK as early as possible and get some time there. We will monitor what happens after that," he added.
India have not won an ICC title in 10 years and the WTC final will present another opportunity for Rohit Sharma's men to end the drought. India played the final of the inaugural edition of WTC but lost the game by eight wickets against New Zealand.
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