Rohit Sharma's Team India will go head to head against Pat Cummins-led Australia in the final of the men's World Test Championship (WTC) from June 7 at the Oval in London. This is the second time that India are playing for the ultimate Test glory -- in the inaugural WTC final in 2021, which, too, was hosted by the UK, they lost to New Zealand at Southampton.
Going by the next WTC schedule that the ICC recently released, the UK will continue hosting the final, with the iconic Lord's earmarked for the clash in 2025.
Why is only the UK hosting the WTC final?
ICC general manager of cricket Wasim Khan says: "The way the WTC cycle is set up, we are playing in the northern hemisphere summer. We look for diverse venues, currently as it stands within England. Lord's was considered but the decision was made on The Oval for this edition.
"In terms of the final every two years, the UK very much suits the set-up of the tournament because it very much falls in line with the northern hemisphere," he was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
Even the game's supporters echo the sentiment. One user of a cricket forum said, "FTP (Future Tours Programme) is designed a way that the WTC cycle ends in April/May. Hence the final in June. Next cycle starts after June so ICC can't host a final of Cycle 1 in the middle of Cycle of 2. In June only England & West Indies can host cricket owing to ideal weather conditions and thanks to a favorable time zone, England wins it hands down. Plus, ICC can get better revenue since the UK gets good crowds for Test cricket."
This year's finalists recently battled each other in India in a closely fought series which the hosts won 2-1. While India won the first two Tests on a canter, the Aussies comprehensively won the third by nine wickets. The final Test of the series was a draw.
Final squads
Team India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
Standby players: Mitch Marsh, Matthew Renshaw
(with inputs from agencies)
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