In the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting chose players from India and Australia to make up his best combined playing XI.
The two heavyweights are scheduled to square off at The Oval starting on June 7 in the high-profile contest. Ponting selected Usman Khawaja and Rohit Sharma as his left-hand and right-hand batsmen, respectively.
The latter’s background worked in his favor, as the former player proposed him for the position of team captain.
In the most recent ICC Review, Ricky Ponting said: I’ll choose Rohit Sharma as the other opener since I’ll be playing left-right. He isn’t solely form-based either. I wanted him to lead the team as captain.
“Pat Cummins, I’ll mention him later, he’ll be in this side, but just from the experience point of view with Rohit, I thought he deserved to be the captain of this team. Pat has obviously only been captain for a short period of time compared to Rohit’s lengthy service.“
The middle order is made up of the legendary trio of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne, with Alex Carey serving as the team’s wicketkeeper. Ravindra Jadeja, an all-rounder, beat out Cameron Green to make the playing XI and is the second spinner. Ponting outlined his choices by stating:
“It’s pretty difficult to surpass my batting lineup’s next pair, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli.”
Ponting selected Usman Khawaja and Rohit Sharma as his left and right hand batsmen, respectively, in the batting department. The latter’s experience worked in his favor, as the former player proposed him for the position of combined team captain.
In the most recent ICC interview, he said: “If you ask anyone to name the top players of the past ten years, both of these men will be at the top of their list. Both have outstanding Test records and consistently produce hundreds. I am aware that Virat has had a couple of lean years, but he came back strong in the most recent series against Australia and richly deserves to be selected in the middle order.”
“I’ve seen how much Ravi Jadeja’s batting has improved over the last two or three years in Test cricket, and he can easily hold down a number six or number seven spot.”
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon were all in Ponting’s team, and they made up the majority of the bowling attack. Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj aren’t included, leaving only Mohammed Shami as an option among Indian bowlers. Ponting said.
“I know we’re picking a Test team here, and Shami’s Test record over the last couple of years has been outstanding, but some of his bowling over the last few weeks in the IPL has also been absolutely unbelievable,” said the commentator.”
“It has a decent side. I don’t want to have to play against that team as another team. Almost all of the bases are covered, so I believe everything points to this World Test Championship Final being exciting.”
Australia won the league title and made it to the finals for the first time at the end of the second WTC cycle. India will attempt to win the trophy for the second time in this final after falling to New Zealand in 2021.
For the WTC Final, Ricky Ponting combined his XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mohammad Shami.
