ICC WTC Final: List of Injured Indian Players ahead of IND vs AUS clash: The second edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final is about to happen in a few days’ time with team India locking horns against Australia. The preparations for the ICC WTC Final are in full swing as both IND and AUS have begun gearing up for the ultimate challenge in London.
Both AUS and IND remained in the top positions in the ICC WTC Points Table after the end of the 2-year cycle and hence, they qualified for the ICC WTC Final 2023. While AUS remained atop the points table with a 66.67 win percentage, India sealed the second spot with a 58.8 win percent.
This will be Australia’s maiden stint in the final of the ICC WTC, however, team India has qualified for the marquee tournament for the second consecutive time. India lost to New Zealand during the inaugural edition of the ICC WTC Final in 2021.
This year’s ICC WTC Final is scheduled to be held at the Kennington Oval in London, starting June 7. The tournament will have a reserve day on 12th June in order to make up for any time lost due to bad weather.
Cricket Australia (CA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced their final squads for the ICC WTC Final. The teams have looked predictable with a couple of spicy changes here and there, however, the Indian team has suffered multiple blows due to injury concerns.
This article will lead you through the ICC WTC Final: List of Injured Indian Players ahead of IND vs AUS clash.
ICC WTC Final: List of Injured Indian Players
Jasprit Bumrah
Team India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has missed a lot of cricket action due to his stress fracture. He has been out of the sport since September 2022. Effectively, Bumrah is away from the sport since July 2022. After completing his rehabilitation period, the pacer was rushed into the South Africa series in September 2022 in which he aggravated his injury and then was again ruled out.
The speedster is already ruled out of the ICC WTC Final between IND and AUS and is likely to make his comeback after the event. Expectedly, the BCCI is trying to bring Jasprit Bumrah into his peak fitness ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 which will be held in India later this year.
KL Rahul
Senior opener KL Rahul pulled his hamstring during the IPL 2023 fixture between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The LSG skipper was in extreme pain as he traced his steps back to the dressing room limping midway through the match. Although he came to bat later in the game to rescue his side out of the dire situation, he felt uncomfortable taking singles.
Later the reports revealed that KL Rahul has suffered a hamstring injury and will have to undergo surgery in the next few days. He was eventually ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2023 and the subsequent ICC WTC Final.
KL Rahul’s absence from the test side is a major dent in India’s hopes to lift the Test Mace as he was the one who played a key role in India’s success in England in 2021.
Rishabh Pant
Ever since Rishabh Pant played the heroic innings at the Gabba in Brisbane against Australia to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2021, he became the poster boy for every cricket fan. He became a regular member of the Indian test side and played multiple match-winning innings over the course of time.
However, unfortunately, he won’t be able to participate in the ICC WTC Final 2023 as he has been recovering from numerous injuries after surviving a major car crash. Pant’s car rammed into the divider and caught fire in the wee hours of 30th December, but the cricketer was fortunate enough to get out of the situation and was taken to the hospital.
The recent reports suggest that the glovesman is recovering swiftly and better than expected. The southpaw has started walking long hours without the support of crutches, which indicates he can make a comeback a lot faster than anticipated.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer is also ruled out of the ICC WTC Final after suffering a back injury. Iyer had earlier decided not to undergo surgery as he wanted to participate in the ICC WTC Final, however, BCCI later shared an update mentioning Iyer to undergo surgery to treat his injury.
Iyer went under the surgeon’s knife in the last week of April and was kept under close watch for two weeks before heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Shreyas Iyer is expected to take at least three months to recover which meant that he would miss the ICC WTC Final in June.
For more details head to ICC’s official website.