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Watch: Team India goofing around ahead of WTC clash in this behind-the-scenes video

Rohit Sharma's side take on Australia at the Oval from Wednesday

Published: Wed 14 Jun 2023, 3:21 PM

Updated: Fri 16 Jun 2023, 1:10 PM

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Photo: BCCI Twitter

Photo: BCCI Twitter

With an aim of winning their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) title, Team India will face Australia in the final scheduled to start from Wednesday at the Kennington Oval in London.

Ahead of the high-voltage showpiece event, Indian cricketers were seen posing for an official photoshoot.


The official Instagram handle of the International Cricket Council (ICC) shared a clip in which the Indian cricketers can be seen engaging in light-hearted conversations. Skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin were among those spotted in the photos.

“Behind the scenes. See the India players have some fun ahead of the crucial #WTC23 final,” ICC captioned the post.

In the video, young India wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan talked about how it feels to be a part of the Indian Test squad. While responding to Ravichandran Ashwin’s query, Ishan summed up his emotions by issuing a one-word reply, “special.”

Ishan was included in India’s WTC final squad as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul. In international cricket, Ishan has so far played 41 matches but the 24-year-old has not featured in any Test yet. Ishan capped off his Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign after notching up 454 runs with a strike rate of 142.77.

While the batting order is settled, the wicketkeeping slot still seems to be under consideration. According to news agency PTI, the Indian team management remains undecided between Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat. Bharat has till now played four Tests. Both Bharat and Ishan were spotted doing wicketkeeping drills before moving to batting nets in the training session on Monday.

In the bowling unit, Team India will have to choose between two spinners and a fourth pace option. According to reports, Ravindra Jadeja bowled during the training session and Ravichandran Ashwin was seen taking part in batting practice. So, it seems both are in play for a place in the final XI.

Australia, the top team in the ICC Test rankings, had to face a massive jolt ahead of the WTC final. Pacer Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the game against India due to a side strain. Michael Neser was added to the Australia squad as Hazlewood’s replacement.

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