On Wednesday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Team of the Tournament, with three Indian players – Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and Ravichandran Ashwin – making the cut.
In the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, Jadeja has scalped 43 wickets in 12 matches with three fifers and amassed 673 runs, including two centuries and three half-centuries. On the other hand, Ashwin took 61 wickets in thirteen games and had two fifers.
Jadeja and Ashwin were jointly named Players of the Tournament after taking 22 and 25 wickets each for their excellent performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now, they will focus on helping Team India win the WTC Final against Australia at The Oval in London this June.
Together this pair has troubled some of the best batting line-ups ????????????????????
They were lethal here in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well ????
A well deserved Joint Player of the series award for these two gentlemen ????????#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/bAkLpOY3zi— BCCI (@BCCI) March 13, 2023
Despite suffering a life-threatening injury and missing out on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rishabh Pant still earned a spot in the XI. During the current championship cycle, he has racked up 868 runs in 12 games, including two centuries and five fifties.
Australia’s WTC Team of the Tournament includes – Usman Khawaja, Dimuth Karaunaratne, Joe Root, Babar Azam, Travis Head, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Pat Cummins (C), Kagiso Rabada, and James Anderson.
Significance of Ashwin and Jadeja for team India in the WTC final against Australia
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been reliable in England’s Test matches. Ashwin has scalped 18 wickets in seven matches, while Jadeja has snagged 23 in 11. Their contributions with the bat at the lower order shouldn’t be overlooked either.
Analysts insist that their impressive records in Australia, which has conditions quite similar to England, must reflect in the team’s performance. Ashwin and Jadeja have respectively bagged 39 and 14 wickets in 10 and four Tests in Australia.