Cricket News

‘To isliye kal haari RCB’ – Fans react as Indian players including Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin set to leave for WTC Final in England

Published on May 22, 2023

The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League has reached its final stage with all the 70 league matches being completed. Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians are the four teams that are qualified for the playoffs and will be aiming to clinch the title. However, after the completion of IPL 2023, the focus will be shifted to the Test Championship final where India will take on Australia to cinch the Test mace.

The final of the Test Championship will start on June 7th at the Oval in England. So there will not be much time left for the players after the IPL. However, it is reported that few players from the Indian squad will be leaving for England on May 23rd for the preparation of the final contest against the Aussies. As reported by SportsStar, seven players from the Indian team with the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Siraj, Umesh, and Jaydev Unadkat are set to leave the country tomorrow as their respective IPL franchises are already out of the playoffs race.

Axar Patel’s Delhi Capitals were the first team to get knocked out of the tournament. While Shadrul Thakur and Umesh Yadav will be coming after their team Kolkata Knight Riders lost their last game against Lucknow Super Giants. While Gujarat Titans’ win in the last league match of the season knocked both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) out of the tournament.

So, the players like Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj from RCB along with Ravi Ashwin from RR will be leaving for England along with other players. Although LSG have qualified for the playoffs, their pacer Jaydev Unadkat is also reported to leave for England tomorrow. The 31-year-old was ruled out of IPL 2023 after sustaining an injury during the tournament.

Indian squad for the Test Championship final:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan (wk) KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Why is unadkat in the squad? I never seen him perform in intl.
Mohsin should be included in the squad.
— Rizwan⁷ (@Riz1Islam) May 22, 2023

Good, This will help the players to adapt to the English conditions. It doesn't matter how many league trophies you have, prestige is in winning trophies for your nation.🇮🇳
— Dev (@DevAtCricket) May 22, 2023

In Form Virat Kohli🙌🙌. Hope Rohit gets his form back in remaining matches too.
— Pandit Jofra Archer (@Punn_dit) May 22, 2023

Hope they practice well and expecting beast performance from king
— srinivas (@srinivas_one_8) May 22, 2023

I want @imVkohli and team to win the mace this time. He may not hold the IPL trophy but he sure can raise the championship mace high up! Let's do this!
— Bibek Terang (@TerangBibek) May 22, 2023