World Test Championship Final: Neither India nor Australia Have a Say on Match Ball, it’s the Choice of ‘Host Country’

India and Australia will battle it out for the World Test Championship title at The Oval in London from June 7 to June 11, with June 12 being the reserve day. Both teams have already announced their respective squads and action will soon shift from the T20 madness in the ongoing Indian Premier League to the grind in whites.

For both India and Australia, The Oval will be a neutral venue in every sense as conditions are not close to what they get back home and the ball too will be different from what they use in their respective home seasons. India use the SG balls for home fixtures while Australia use the Kookaburra. ICC uses ball of choice of “host country” for the event and in this case, the host country is England which uses the Dukes. Even the WTC final between India and New Zealand in England last year was played with the Dukes.

Orange Cap Holder IPL 2023: See the Full List Here

“For all ICC events, the ICC uses the ball of choice of our host country so in this case, the ball for the WTC Final will be Dukes which is used in England,” a ICC source told News18 CricketNext.

Aware of the Dukes challenge ahead, India skipper Rohit Sharma, at the post-match press-conference after the Ahmedabad Test, said “some Duke balls” will be sent to WTC-bound bowlers.

“We are sending some Duke balls to all fast bowlers and if they get some time to bowl with that but again it all depend on individuals, guys who will be part of the final are not the guys who have not played in the UK and maybe one or two guys here and there and rest all of us have played in that part of the world. I don’t think it will be a huge problem. But yeah, look I believe in preparation and preparations will be key for us come the Final,” Rohit had said after the drawn fourth Test vs Australia last month.

IPL 2023 Points Table: Check Team Standings, Team Points, Wins, Losses

Between the IPL 2023 final and start of the WTC final, there is little over a week and India’s WTC squad members, not part of the IPL playoffs, are likely to reach England early to commence preparations. The 2023 edition of the IPL culminates with the title clash in Ahmedabad on May 28 and the playoffs will begin from May 23.

“Around 21st May, there will be six teams who will be possibly out of IPL play-off contention and so whichever players are available, we will try and find time to get them to UK early as possible and get some time and we will monitor as much as possible,” Rohit had said in Ahmedabad.

From India’s WTC squad, only Cheteshwar Pujara is not playing in the IPL and is already in England playing County Championship for Sussex. India’s No.3 is leading Sussex this year and has already hit a hundred in the opening match of the season. For Australia, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood (recovering from injury), Mitchell Marsha and David Warner are featuring in the cash-rich league.

Purple Cap Holder IPL 2023: See the Full List Here

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner