Australia confirm 15-member squad for World Test Championship final, pacer Josh Hazlewood makes the cut

Josh Hazlewood (Pic: AFP)

Australia have confirmed their 15-member squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India beginning on June 7 at The Oval, London.

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, who had injury concerns during the Indian Premier League, has been cleared to play in WTC final and has found a place in the squad.

He joins fellow pacers, Test skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.

The inclusion of Hazlewood, a veteran of 59 Tests and 222 wickets, means the selectors no longer need to bring in all-rounders Michael Neser or Sean Abbott into the squad as cover.

Both Neser and Abbott are playing country cricket and Australian chief coach Andrew McDonald had said recently they could be drafted into the squad if anyone in the touring party got injured.

Hazlewood, though, has struggled with injuries of late. He joined the RCB camp late as he was recovering from an Achilles injury. He has played just four Tests since December 2021 due to a side strain. He played just three IPL games this season, bowling nine overs and taking a best of 3/76 before returning home.

The Indian squad has also been confirmed with uncapped Ishan Kishan replacing KL Rahul due to latter's injury. Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad to join Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav as a standby player.

Also Read: WTC Final: Hussey picks Kohli, Rohit as key batters for India

Squads for WTC final

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, Umesh Yadav

(With PTI inputs)