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Shardul Over Umesh Yadav: Sunil Gavaskar Picks His India XI For WTC Final

image-lihdsq17Sunil Gavaskar picks his India XI for WTC final | Source: Twitter

Team India is set to lock horns with Australia in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023, starting June 7 at the Oval. The Asian Giants are heading into the WTC final for the second time, having previously lost to New Zealand in the last season's final. 

Both the teams are fully occupied with their preparations, striving to pick their strongest playing XI for the biggest occasion. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has shared his insights and put forward his playing lineup for Team India. 

During a conversation on the Star Sports program 'Follow the Blues,' Gavaskar was asked to choose his best Indian XI for the WTC final, and here's what he had to say: 

"I will talk about the batting and that will be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as one-two. No. 3 is (Cheteshwar) Pujara, No. 4 is (Virat) Kohli, No. 5 is Ajinkya Rahane. No. 6 is where there is just a little bit of a concern.” 

In the midst of the debate regarding Team India's wicket keeper for the upcoming match, the former Indian captain inclined towards KS Bharat instead of Ishan Kishan because of his prior experience. 

"I would imagine No. 6 would be either (Srikar) Bharat or Ishan Kishan. They are talking about Bharat because he has played all these matches so far. So I will probably stick with Bharat at six."

In an interesting turn of events, Gavaskar reckoned that India could field both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in their playing XI as No. 7 and No. 8 if the conditions are not too overcast at the Oval. 

"No. 7 will be (Ravindra) Jadeja. If it's a bright day and a bright prediction, then I think you are looking at Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin at No. 7 and No. 8."

Coming to the pace attack, Sunil Gavaskar opted for Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami. Gavaskar expressed his belief that India would prioritize Shardul Thakur over Umesh Yadav to strengthen the batting depth. 

"No. 9, 10 and 11 will be Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and maybe Shardul Thakur." 

Sunil Gavaskar's Indian XI for the WTC final:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur