India will be anxious going into the World Test Championship final against Australia on Wednesday due to injuries to several of their key players and a lack of practice time.

Three groups of the 15-member squad, including three reserves, departed for London.

Only eight days before the World Tennis Championship final, five of them, including Ravindra Jadeja, competed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final in Ahmedabad, which took three days to complete due to rain.

India will be hoping that their players can adapt fast as they move from T20 cricket in India to Test cricket in England without any warm-up games.

Cheteshwar Pujara, one of the few elite Indian cricketers who does not participate in the IPL, is one person who has had plenty of time to adjust.

Instead, he has been leading Sussex in the County Championship, and he has racked up three centuries—at an average of 68—against the red ball.

Shubman Gill, though, is without a doubt the man of the hour.

The 23-year-old was honored as the IPL’s player of the tournament for his three centuries for Gujarat Titans. He and teammate Virat Kohli watched Saturday’s FA Cup final in London.

In the previous six months, he has scored hundreds for India in each of the three forms.

Rahane, is he prepared to restart his Test career?
In an IPL game, Shubman Gill, on the right, shakes hands with Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill is thought to be India’s next major batting star.
However, due to injuries, India will be missing both their star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and their illustrious wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

They took a further damage when talented batsman Shreyas Iyer sustained a back ailment earlier this year and when opener KL Rahul hurt his leg during the IPL.

Ishan Kishan, an untested wicketkeeper, has taken Rahul’s place in the team.

Kishan and Srikar Bharat will face off for the gloves. Four-time Test participant Bharat is thought to be a superior goalkeeper.

“The selectors, captain [Rohit Sharma], and coach (Rahul Dravid) believe in tried and tested players,” ex-India wicketkeeper and BCCI general manager Saba Karim remarked.

“Since this is a one-off, they don’t want to take a chance by playing a player without Test experience. For the most recent home series against Australia, I supported Kishan, but Bharat was selected.

“Experience counts in England, where the ball wobbles after crossing the stumps.

“After Rahul’s injury, I believed they ought to have selected Wridhiman Saha since, technically, he is the finest glove player in India.

But now that Bharat and Kishan are the options, the team management would undoubtedly choose Bharat.

Back problems have plagued Bumrah, who underwent surgery in New Zealand in March. Since July 2022, he hasn’t participated in a Test game.

After being dragged from his flaming SUV following an accident in December, Pant was fortunate to survive. For the remainder of the year, he remains uncertain.

When India plays abroad, the customary selection conundrum is whether to start Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin as two spinners or simply one to help the pace bowling attack.

Ex-India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan remarked, “If the Test was at Lord’s, I would have gone with three or four seamers and one spinner.”

But if you want to win a Test match at The Oval, where there is some bounce and turn in the second innings, two spinners are necessary.

You will have five specialized batsmen and two all-rounders because both spinners are capable batters. That equilibrium is ideal.

Even though attendance at Test matches has significantly decreased over the past 20 years, there is still a great deal of interest in and passionate following of the Test team’s success.

There has been a spike in interest in the national team on mobile devices as a result of India surpassing China as the world’s most populous country last year and having the largest active smartphone market outside of China.

The World Test Championship, which the ICC launched in February 2019, has significantly increased interest in Test matches. Interest peaked as India and Sri Lanka fought it out for the second slot in the final after Australia qualified.

Since the 2013 Champions title in England, India has not captured an ICC title.

They have another opportunity in the same nation ten years later.