Team India on Tuesday (June 15) named their 15-member squad for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, scheduled to be held in Southampton from June 18-22.
Taking to Twitter, BCCI announced the squad which features Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as openers while the likes of skipper Virat Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari are the options for middle-order.
Rishabh Pant is the designated wicketkeeper in the squad, with Wriddhiman Saha being his back-up. Spinning all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are both part of the line-up, which also includes Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj as four pacers.
Most of the Indian cricketers were out of action after the suspension of IPL 2021 last month. They are relying on intra-squad game and training sessions to get the much-needed match practice under their belt.
On the other hand, Kiwis got valuable practice for the WTC final as they recently played two-match Test series against England and won it by 1-0.
Team India Squad for WTC final:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj