"We've got India in WTC final first": Australia captain Pat Cummins
Jun 04, 2023
London [UK], June 4 : While Australia and England have a historic Ashes rivalry as they play The Ashes series, Australia captain Pat Cummins wants to focus on ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against India for now and take the coveted trophy home.
As India and Australia prepare for the much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, which is set to begin on Wednesday, Cummins and Co aim to bring home the coveted trophy, while India, the 2021 runners-up, want to go one better.
Australia will first play the final of the World Test Championship from 7-11 June against India, followed by a five-match Ashes series which starts on 16 June.
"We've got India in the World Test Championship final first, which I think a lot of people forgot," Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cummins as saying as he and his players prepare to meet India at the Oval from Wednesday.
The Australian skipper stated that the World Tour Championship provides "global context" and something to compete for.
"The big series, say Ashes or India series where you play four or five Test matches, are obviously big battles, whereas the more common series where you play two or three in a series, it [the World Test Championship] gives them a bit more global context and something a bit extra to play for," he added.
India's squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), 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, Ishan Kishan (wk).
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, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
