WTC Final: Kohli, Ashwin, Siraj Among First Batch Of 7 Players To Leave For England

Virat’s RCB teammate Mohammad Siraj will also take the same flight alongside R Ashwin and Axar Patel, and all-rounder Shardul Thakur.

Virat Kohli in action.

Source : PTI

Virat Kohli will be leaving for London in the first batch of Indian players to take part in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. He will travel on Tuesday to play the final that is set to take place at the Oval from June 7-11, as per the PTI report.

Kohli was taking part in the IPL 2023 but then his team Royal Challengers Bangalore got eliminated on Sunday. Virat’s RCB teammate Mohammad Siraj will also take the same flight alongside R Ashwin and Axar Patel, and all-rounder Shardul Thakur. The team’s head coach Rahul Dravid will also be going the first batch of Indian players.

The other two players who are in the first list of seven cricketers are Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat. Currently, they are recuperating from a shoulder injury.

“There will be two or three departures in total. The first batch leaves at 4.30 am tomorrow,” said a BCCI source.

India's skipper Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, K S Bharat and Ajinkya Rahane are busy as they will be taking part in the IPL 2023 playoffs and then will leave for the WTC final. India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara is already in England, playing county cricket and will join the Indian squad in London once they will reach there.

“Also if we play against a select county XI, it will comprise mostly second team or development squad players, as first team players are not released during the championship. Playing against a weak opposition doesn’t help in quality practice,” a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

India WTC Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, and Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper). Additionally, the standby players for the squad are Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, and Suryakumar Yadav.