WTC Final 2023: What will Men in Blue's playing XI look like at the Oval?

The finalists for the WTC final depended heavily on the results of theBorderGavaskar Trophy series held in FebruaryMarch this year Australia secured the top spot in the WTC 2021ndash23 standings with a percentage of 666737 and 152 points while India secured second place with a percentage of 58837 and 127 pointsThe Men in Blue will return to international cricket after a break of nearly three months and kickstart the 202324 season with the highprofileICCWorld Test ChampionshipWTC against Australia from June 7 to 11 It is noteworthy thatTeam India hasnt won an ICC trophy since ten years and will be keen to end its medal jinxMost Indian players except for the ones who featured in the final of IPL 2023 are already in England at the moment ramping up preparations for the oneoff match against the Pat Cumminsled side which finished at the top of the WTC 2021ndash23 cycle Talisman batsman Virat Kohli along with R Ashwin reached England last week followed by skipper Rohit with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal who was included as a standby player in place of Ruturaj GaikwadThe Indian cricket team will be looking to seize every opportunity to ensure they lift the WTC Final trophy Their talisman batsman Virat Kohli has scored 8416 runs in 183 Test innings overall with his highest score being 254 against South Africa in 2019 He has amassed 28 centuries and 28 halfcenturies in Test format with an exceptional batting average of 4893Also ReadWTC Final Pujaras inputs will be invaluable for Indian batters says GavaskarCaptain Sharma who was also Indias best batter on their 20212022 tour of England will form a very crucial part of the sides formidable batting uint against the Australia pace attack The inform Shubman Gill will partner Rohit at the top of the order who is set to make amends to his below par Test record in EnglandThe flamboyant Cheteshwar Pujara will rely on his stupendous form in England 1718 runs at 8590 with eight hundreds in 15 matches His matchups against Nathan Lyon will be of special interestwhen the duo clash for the first time outside their respective home nations Pujara has 7514 Test runs in 174 innings with his highest score being 206 against England in 2012 He has scored 19 centuries and 35 halfcenturies with an impressive batting average of 4388Ajinkya Rahane has been in terrific form of late albeit in a format and conditions as different from a Test match at The Oval as possible and will be gunning for glory alongside other veterans Ravindra Jadejas allround excellence will have a pivotal role to play at the Oval As a lefthander he will also be key in the middleorderKS Bharat is expected to step up in the absence of an injured Rishabh Pant and history has it that he can perform his best in crunch situations and he will hope to reprise that role againAlso ReadWTC Final 2023 Date time venue complete squads live streaming and moreTo play or not to play Ashwin Team India will once again face the Ashwin conundrum If the conditions at the Oval favour pace more Shardul Thakur should get the nod ahead of Indias leading wickettaker In Test cricket Ashwin has taken 474 wickets in 92 matches He has taken 32 fivewicket hauls and seven 10wicket hauls In batting terms he has scored 3129 runs in 131 innings His highest score of 124 came against West Indies in 2016 He has scored five centuries and 13 halfcenturiesUmesh Yadav finished as Indias best bowler when India last played at the Oval in 2021with 376 and 360 in what was his only second Test in England He was in a good form against Australia earlier this year In 2018 Umesh Yadav scalped a 10wicket haul against West Indies His best bowling figures were six wickets for 88 runs against West IndiesSpearheading the India attack in Bumrahrsquos absence Mohammed Shami will be key to Indiarsquos success as will be Mohammed Siraj Siraj has taken 47 wickets in 18 matches thus proving himself as one of the most influential emerging players in Test cricket Jaydev Unadkat has only played two matches for Team India in Test cricket He has claimed three wickets against Bangladesh in Test format