Defeat for India in WTC Final Leaves Them Reviewing International Schedule

India was beaten by Australia in the final of the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in London. The winners were successful by 209 runs, wrapping up the victory on day five of the contest.

It has led to many members of the BCCI reflecting on the loss, and considering if any changes need to be made in the future, either to the format of the series or in the preparation of the Test squad.

The damage for India was done on day one at Lords when Steven Smith and Travis Head put on a 285 partnership in Australia’s opening innings, with the latter scoring 163 runs. India could only reach 296 in reply to their opponent’s score of 469.

In the second innings of the match, Australia declared on 270 for eight. India got off to a good start, but once they lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli, they were faced with a difficult task and were eventually bowled out for 234. Kohli who, as reported by Newsblare, stood down as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, reached into the 40s but was unable to kick on into a big score.

Congratulations to our World Test Champions 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0cB3fHDd8U

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) June 11, 2023

Australia became just the second-ever winner of the World Test Championship. They will be hoping to follow that up with more success in England in the Ashes. As of June 15, they are the odds-on favorites at -111 with Betway to win the series against their oldest rivals. They have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001.

Sharma Calls for Three Test Series

India captain Rohit Sharma has called for the World Test Championship final to be a three-match series. He believes that the final deserves to be more than a one-off match given all the work involved over the three-year period to qualify.

The next final will be in 2025 when Lord’s will play host to the top teams in the standings at the end of the cycle. Sharma has also questioned whether the game should be in England again. This upcoming final will be the third straight game played in England. The ICC will argue that, with the game taking place in June, it needs to be in the northern hemisphere, and that with the consistently high crowds in England, they are best placed to play hosts.

WTC Final Came Too Close to IPL Conclusion

The cameo that will forever be remembered 🥳🤩#CHAMPION5 #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/Vbi5yxkxwQ

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 30, 2023

India went into the 2023 World Test Championship final with no red-ball preparation. It came just nine days after the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a game in which Gill, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravindra Jadeja were all involved.

Some pundits have called for the BCCI to force any of their Test stars to leave the IPL early in the future, should India make the final again. They then could travel to England weeks before the game to be involved in a warm-up contest. As reported by Newsblare, the IPL expanded to 74 matches in 2022 due to the inclusion of two new franchises. It means the Indian international players have an even longer schedule now in the competition.

Australia was helped by the fact that Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, two of their leading batsmen, had been in England for a couple of months playing County Cricket. They were both ready for the challenges of the red ball during the Test match.

Tendulkar Questions India Team Selection

The team selection India selected ahead of the World Test Championship final was a controversial one, as they opted to leave spinner Ravichandran Ashwin out of their starting line-up. As reported by Yahoo, they opted for four seamers in Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Shardul Thakur, while Jadeja was their sole spinner in the side.

India legend Sachin Tendulkar, who features on the richest cricketers list with Newsblare, was just one former player who was mystified by the decision to leave out Ashwin. He felt that was a mistake that became evident on day one when the four seamers struggled to get the wickets of Smith and Head.

Ashwin, the number-one ranked bowler in the ICC rankings, has been a reliable figure for India in Test matches at home, however, they were not sure they could play two spinners on the wicket at the Oval. In the end, they opted for Jadeja of the two players.

India is next in action when they travel to the West Indies in July. They will play two Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20 internationals against the hosts.

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