Sports Desk
Dehli: India include two spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, in their 15-man squad to take on New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final that begins on Friday.
Jadeja, along with Mohammed Shami, Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav, all of whom sustained injuries during the tour of Australia in December and January, return to India’s test squad after missing the home series against England earlier this year.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who starred in the 3-1 test series win against England, and batsman KL Rahul, who underwent surgery for appendicitis in May, missed the cut, after being named in the preliminary 20-man squad.
Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Mayank Agarwal were also left out.
Earlier on Tuesday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper BJ Watling were declared fit to play the final after the pair missed the eight-wicket victory over England at Edgbaston due to injuries.
The WTC was launched in 2019 to create a pinnacle event for five-day international cricket, following the successes of the Twenty20 and 50-over world cups.
Australia and England were in the race before India and New Zealand pulled ahead to grab the top two spots in the final.
The championship decider will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
