Announced! India Squad for World Test Championship Final, England Test

India squad World Test Championship Final: After doing impressively well especially in the last few months against England and Australia, India are ready to challenge New Zealand in the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final scheduled to start from June 18 in Southampton. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally announced the squad for the WTC final as well as the five-match Test series against England. After the suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL), India are also expected to leave early for UK in order to prepare well for the important Test match.

India squad for WTC Final

The biggest takeaway from the Indian squad announced is the absence of Hardik Pandya probably because he is currently not even bowling in the T20 matches. The Chetan Sharma-led national selection panel have went ahead with a pretty similar squad that played in the recently concluded Test series against England at home. The trio of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal are the three openers. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari and wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant will form part of the middle-order.

The selectors have picked four spinners in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. In the pace bowling department, the likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami have been picked.

The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Kuldeep Yadav and T Natarajan who were part of the squad Down Under have unfortunately missed out this time. The duo of KL Rahul and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha have also been named in the 20-member squad but a final call will be taken after their fitness clearance. The likes of Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Arsan Nagwaswalla have been named as the stand-by players. The five-match Test series between England and India is scheduled to start with the 1st Test in Nottingham from August 4.

India's squad: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Gill, Mayank, Cheteshwar Pujara, H. Vihari, Rishabh (WK), R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Siraj, Shardul, Umesh.

KL Rahul & Saha (WK) subject to fitness clearance.

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 7, 2021

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla

Details ? https://t.co/AZhTboIYOR

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 7, 2021

India’s squad for WTC Final and England Test Series

Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Gill, Mayank, Cheteshwar Pujara, H. Vihari, Rishabh (WK), R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Siraj, Shardul, Umesh.

KL Rahul & Saha (WK) subject to fitness clearance.

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