Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian captain and renowned commentator, has revealed his playing XI for India, when they take on Australia in the World Test Championship final at The Oval in London in June. On April 25, the All-India Senior Selection Committee announced a 15-member squad for the match. It featured Ajinkya Rahane, the veteran batter who last played for India in January 2022, and KL Rahul, who was has retained despite his underwhelming performance in the Test series against Australia earlier this year.
Heading into the second WTC final, Gavaskar picked the group of players he felt were best equipped to take on the No.1-ranked Australian side. His selection includes six batters, two all-rounders, and three pace bowlers.
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Gavaskar, the first to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, has suggested that India should consider playing Rahul as the wicketkeeper instead of KS Bharat, the specialist gloveman in the squad. “Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be my opening picks, Cheteshwar Pujara at three, Virat Kohli at four, Ajinkya Rahane at five, KL Rahul at six who’ll keep the wickets as well,” he said on the Star Sports channel. “Then there will be Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, followed by Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami and Mohd Siraj.”
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India lost the inaugural WTC final to New Zealand in May 2021.
Sunil Gavaskar’s Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.