WTC Final 2023: Team India May Not Get A Warm-Up Match In London- Report

WTC Final: While the first batch of players which includes players Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel have departed, others will be joining over the course of the next week.

Even as the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has still not reached its end with the Playoff games set to begin later on Tuesday (May 23), the first batch of Indian players along with some of the members of the support staff have already left for London in the early hours of Tuesday.

However, a media report has now claimed that Team India will not get a warm-up game before that summit clash against Australia even as the players have gone there early to acclimatizate themselves with the conditions there before the crucial World Test Championship (WTC) final scheduled between India and Australia at The Oval from June 7-11.

As per a report carried by Cricbuzz, with Indian players not getting a warm-up game, a match could be played among the members of India's touring party once everyone arrives in Australia.

Notably, the Indian team is leaving in batches because of the ongoing IPL 2023. While the first batch of players which includes players Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel have departed, others will be joining over the course of the next week with the complete squad to assemble in London only by May 30, days after the IPL final scheduled on May 28.

Meanwhile, it is being reported that senior members of the team like Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin whose franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have failed to make it to the Playoffs this season will be leaving next with their departure likely on May 24. In addition, pacer Umesh Yadav, whose team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also failed to make it through to the final four will also leave for England soo .

"Outbound", Shardul wrote on a story he posted on Instagram.

Meanwhile, a report carried by Cricbuzz has claimed that while the original plan was to send the first batch of IPL players immediately after the league stage which came to an end on May 21 (Sunday), some players requested the BCCI to be allowed to leave at a later date.

"There may be departures everyday till May 30. Logistics arrangements are being made for almost every day," a BCCI official was quoted as saying as per this report.

The other big news is that left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a shoulder injury, is set to be fit for the WTC Final. He has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and is expected to leave after May 27.