Australia, India submit final squads to ICC for World Test Championship final
May 28, 2023
Dubai [UAE], May 28 : Australia and India have finalised their 15-player squads for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval.
Both teams submitted their final squads to the ICC on Sunday, with Australia trimming their original 17-player squad by two to land on the 15 players that will take on India in south London from June 7.
Experienced seamer Josh Hazlewood remains in the mix to play against India after he was named in Australia's finalised 15-player group.
There have been suggestions that Michael Neser might replace Hazlewood, who is fighting side pain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is racing to be back in shape for the match at The Oval on June 7.
If Australia has to revise its 15-man team due to injury or other reasons, the ICC technical committee must approve the adjustment.
Standby players for Australia include all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw, while UK-based Australians Neser and Sean Abbott will also help the squad prepare when they arrive in London in early June.
Back-up keeper Josh Inglis and Nathan Lyon's understudy Todd Murphy have been included in the final squad.
Meanwhile, India have made no changes to the 15-player squad they named following KL Rahul's withdrawal due to injury, although uncapped youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal earns a late call-up as a standby player on the back of his excellent recent efforts in the IPL.
Jaiswal was in fine form for the Rajasthan Royals, accumulating 625 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 163.61.
He will replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as one of three standby players for India, with the left-hander already holding a visa for England and able to fly to London immediately.
He joins fellow white-ball star Suryakumar Yadav and uncapped seamer Mukesh Kumar as the standby options for India, with the trio joining the squad of 15 in London in the coming days as both sides prepare for the eagerly-awaited contest.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc and David Warner.
Standby players: Mitch Marsh and Matthew Renshaw.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat and Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav.
