The World Test Championship (WTC) final which is starting today at the Kennington Oval in England might turn out to be the last ICC final for a couple of Indian players. If India ends up losing the final, the Indian test team will certainly go into the transition period and a lot of senior players of the team won’t get the opportunity to play too many test matches after that.
Here are the 2 Indian players who might be playing their last World Test Championship final –
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane was a surprise pick by India for the World Test Championship final, despite the fact that he had a decent domestic season and the IPL. Some young players from domestic circuit were overlooked and Rahane was picked simply because of his experience of playing in England in the past.
The Indian team management would hope that Rahane uses all his experience to his advantage at the Oval and makes a meaningful contribution for India, because if it doesn’t happen, Rahane’s comeback to the Indian test team might be cut short.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara has been playing county cricket in England and has been doing fairly well, while the other Indian players were playing in the IPL back home. So, Pujara must be better used to the English conditions as compared to the others, but Pujara hasn’t been consistent for India in test cricket in the last few years.
Pujara has played some crucial knocks for India at crucial junctures, but the consistency hasn’t been there. If Pujara fails in the WTC final and India loses the game, the Indian selectors might decide to move on from Pujara as well, apart from Rahane.
The careers of these two outstanding Indian test cricketers are on the line in this final, which will determine the best test team in the world.
