WTC final: India worried about form and fitness before facing Australia

India person been preparing for the WTC last astatine Arundel Cricket Club

To build-up to India's World Test Championship last against Australia, BBC Sport asked India cricket writer Gulu Ezekiel, writer of books connected Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Bishan Bedi, to measure the team's chances.

The squad of 15, positive 3 reserves, near for London successful 3 batches.

Five of them, including Ravindra Jadeja, were portion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last successful Ahmedabad which, due to the fact that of rain, went into a 3rd time and lone finished astatine 01:35 section clip connected Tuesday - conscionable 8 days earlier the WTC final.

Without immoderate warm-up matches, India volition beryllium hoping their players tin rapidly acclimatise arsenic they modulation from T20 cricket successful India to Test cricket successful England.

One antheral who has had plentifulness of clip to acclimatise is batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who is 1 of the fewer apical Indian cricketers who does not play successful the IPL.

Instead, helium has been captaining Sussex successful the County Championship and has scored 3 centuries against the reddish shot astatine an mean of 68.

The antheral of the moment, though, is undoubtedly Shubman Gill.

The 23-year-old, who watched Saturday's FA Cup last successful London alongside team-mate Virat Kohli, was named subordinate of the tourney successful the IPL for his 3 centuries for Gujarat Titans.

For India, helium has scored centuries successful each 3 formats successful the past six months.

• Is Rahane acceptable to relaunch his Test career?

Shubman Gill, right, is regarded arsenic the adjacent large batting prima to travel from India

India, however, volition beryllium without some their starring accelerated bowler Jasprit Bumrah and iconic wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant due to the fact that of injury.

They were further deed by the backmost wounded suffered by stylish batter Shreyas Iyer earlier this twelvemonth and past to opener KL Rahul, who suffered a limb wounded successful the IPL.

Rahul has been replaced successful the squad by uncapped wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.

Kishan volition vie with Srikar Bharat to instrumentality the gloves. Bharat, who has played 4 Tests, is regarded arsenic a amended keeper.

"The selectors, skipper [Rohit Sharma] and manager (Rahul Dravid) judge successful tried and tested players," said ex-India wicketkeeper and BCCI wide manager Saba Karim.

"This is simply a one-off truthful they would not similar to hazard playing idiosyncratic with nary Test experience. I had backed Kishan for the caller location bid against Australia but Bharat was chosen.

"In England wherever the shot wobbles aft crossing the stumps, it is acquisition that counts.

"After Rahul's wounded I felt they should person chosen Wridhiman Saha arsenic technically helium is the champion successful India with the gloves.

"But present that the prime is betwixt Bharat and Kishan, the squad absorption volition surely spell for Bharat."

Bumrah has been plagued with backmost issues and had country successful New Zealand successful March. He has not played a Test lucifer since July 2022.

Pant was fortunate to flight with his beingness aft being pulled retired of his burning SUV pursuing an mishap successful December. He is doubtful for the remainder of the year.

The accustomed enactment headache erstwhile India play overseas is whether to see 2 spinners successful the playing XI - Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin - oregon conscionable 1 to augment the gait bowling attack.

"If the Test was astatine Lord's I would person gone with 3 oregon 4 seamers and 1 spinner," said ex-India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

"But astatine The Oval wherever determination is immoderate bounce and crook successful the 2nd innings, 2 spinners are indispensable if you privation to triumph a Test match.

"With some spinners being bully batters arsenic well, you volition person 5 specializer batsmen and 2 all-rounders. That is the cleanable balance."

Though crowds for Test matches person thinned considerably implicit the past 2 decades, involvement successful the Test team's advancement is inactive precocious and is followed avidly.

India, which past twelvemonth overtook China arsenic the world's astir populous nation, has much progressive smartphones than anyplace successful the world, but China, and this has led to a surge of involvement successful the nationalist squad connected handheld devices.

The World Test Championship, introduced by the ICC successful February 2019, has considerably accrued the pursuing for Test matches and involvement peaked arsenic India tussled with Sri Lanka for the 2nd spot successful the last pursuing Australia's qualification.

India person not won an ICC trophy since the Champions Trophy successful England successful 2013.

Ten years later, they person different accidental successful the aforesaid country.