Indian Cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar feels that switching from test cricket to T20 cricket will be the biggest challenge for the Indian team players as they will return to playing red-ball cricket after playing two months long IPL cricket against Australia at the Oval starting on June 7.
The Indian team will compete in their second straight World Test Championship Final, this time taking on Australia in search of their first ICC trophy since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013 under MS Dhoni, as Rohit Sharma would look to win their long-awaited ICC trophy against Australia.
Speaking on Star Sports, Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar believes that the biggest test for the Indian players would be the switch from T2o Cricket to Test Cricket as India has only Cheteshwar Pujara playing red-ball in county cricket as the other Indian players were part of the cash-rich league.
“The biggest test will be the fact that just about everybody will be coming out of a T20 format, and Test cricket is a longer format. So, I think that’s going to be the big challenge,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“They (India) have only Cheteshwar Pujara who has been playing in the English County Championship, so he will be the only guy who has played the longer format in these conditions, so that’s going to be the big challenge for them.”
Meanwhile most of the Australian Test players not participating in the IPL, will come with better preparation than India for the finals and it will interesting to see whether the Rohit Sharma side adopts the England condition quickly to give a stiff challenge to Australia.
I’m Hoping Ajinkya Rahane Will Be Able To Grab This Opportunity – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar feels that Ajinkya Rahane will be a crucial player for India in WTC Final as he has got a lot of experience playing in England conditions and reckons that he going to be the vital player for India at the Number 5 position, especially in the absence of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant and wants him to grab the opportunity to make a case strong in the Indian team.
“He’s got a lot of experience having played in England, having scored runs in England. So, yes, I think he is going to be crucial down at number 5. And yes, I do believe he has a point to prove, I still feel he has got plenty of cricket left in him, and this is a wonderful opportunity for him.”
“I’m hoping he will be able to grab this opportunity with all the experience that he has and make a place for him back in the Indian team,” Sunil Gavaskar Concluded.
Ajinkya Rahane made a comeback into the side following his terrific season with CSK and has been in scintillating form for the five-time champions. The Indian veteran had a phenomenal season with the bat for Mumbai in the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy season proving his worth in the longer format of the game.