Team India is all set to play the much-awaited World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia from June 7 at The Oval in London, England. This will be their second attempt at winning the coveted trophy, having lost in 2021 at the hands of New Zealand.
Meanwhile, for the first time in the 140-year history of this ground, a Test is being played in June. Team India will enter the match under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, with 10 of their 15 players of his squad having the experience of playing on this hallowed ground.
Only five of the 15 members of their squad have not played at The Oval. Of these five, one has not even made his Test debut yet.
These five players are:
KS Bharat
Shubman Gill
Axar Patel
Jaydev Unadkat
Ishan Kishan
Who will play the WTC final?
Of these, KS Bharat has played four matches while Jaydev Unadkat has played two in their Test career. In addition to this, Kishan is yet to make his Test debut.
Bharat has been drafted into the team as the replacement for Rishabh Pant, who suffered a major accident at the end of 2022 and is out of action for the foreseeable future. He made his debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and played all four Tests against Australia in India.
Ahead of the WTC final, India also have the option of playing Ishan Kishan in the side, but handing him his debut in the all-important fixture might not be the most feasible option.
Bharat, despite being in the team for the BGT, did not perform well with the bat which is a major concern for the team. However, given Kishan's inexperience, there is a high possibility that Bharat will be in India's playing XI in The Oval. But the last time an Indian wicketkeeper played on this ground for the first time, he scored a century. That was Rishabh Pant.
Talking about the potential Playing XI for India, Gill and captain Rohit Sharma will surely lead the charge from the front with the bat. It might be difficult for Axar Patel and Jaydev Unadkat to make the cut. India are sure to field Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department, and he will be complemented by R Ashwin. This hurts the chances of Axar, who is similar to Jadeja.
This goes for Jaydev Unadkat as well. In the pace department, there is a contest between Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav as the third option along with Mohammed Shami abd Mohammed Siraj. If India goes with the option of a left-arm pacer, then only will Unadkat get his chance.
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