India name squad for World Test Championship final against Australia

India have named their squad for the World Test Championship finals against Australia, with several absentees accounted for. 

KL Rahul has been left out due to an injury he sustained to his left thigh during the IPL game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants. After consultation with specialists, he will now undergo surgery followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy. Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav’s involvement in the test series remains a doubt owing to their respective injuries at the time of writing. 

India name squad for World Test Championship finals against Australia 

Here is the full squad named by the BCCI: 

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).

Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav. 

Ishan Kishan has been brought in to replace KL Rahul while he recovers. On the other hand, KS Bharat will be the other wicket-keeper in the squad. Rather surprisingly, Ajinkya Rahane has been called up for the first time since January 2022. However, his involvement in the starting line-up remains a question mark given the other options that have been included. 

Moreover, the seam friendly conditions in England begs the question of how many spinners will be played by India against Australia in the finals.