The World Test Championship (WTC) finals is one of the most awaited cricketing events in this calendar year. India and Australia will be gearing up to face each other at The Oval and the finals start from 7th June.
Several former cricketers and cricket pundits have weighed in their opinions and have picked their winners. Former Australian batter Mike Hussey has now picked his key players of India in the upcoming high-voltage WTC finals.
“It’s hard to see past Virat Kohli. He (Kohli) is obviously coming back into some great form again in all forms of the game really, so both he and Rohit Sharma with the bat are going to be important for India,” said Mike Hussey.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are some of the most experienced all-format players of India and they will have their task cut-out. Kohli is in exceptional form and played really well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
The 34-year-old batter mustered 639 runs in 14 games. Kohli had a scintillating average of 53.25 and also smashed two back-to-back centuries in the cash-rich league in this edition.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma had a disappointing IPL 2023 campaign. But his role as an opener, to negate the new ball swing, will be quite crucial for India. He is also the skipper of Team India and will be hoping to galvanize his resources well in order to secure India’s first international trophy since the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
Mike Hussey also picked some key players for Australia
The former batter who is known by the moniker “Mr. Cricket” said that the pacers will be playing an important role in the swing-friendly conditions of England.
“It is going to be played in England, so English conditions will be different to the recent series in India, so I think the fast bowlers are going to be important. Pat Cummins (is key for Australia) and Josh Hazlewood might be fit again which would be nice for Australia,” said Mike Hussey.
India have won the last 4 Test series versus Australia
What will be a big shot in the arm for the Indians will be their imperious recent record versus Australia. India have won the last 4 Border Gavaskar Test Series and have been in stupendous form against the Ozzies.
In the recently-concluded series against Australia in March, India had won the series 2-1. All these could provide major confidence to the Indians.
Also read: IPL 2023: Tom Moody Picks His Favourite T20 Captain Of All Time