File image of Rohit Sharma© BCCI
Indian cricket team is all set to take on Australia in the World Test Championship Final starting from Wednesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma said, every captain wants to win the title and "I am no different." The Test match will be played at The Oval. In a press conference, Rohit said, "Everyone wants to take the team forward. Everyone wants to win the title. Every captain wants to Win Championships and I am no different. The next five days are going to be important for us. I want to focus on what is in our mind."
Rohit Sharma said, "We are quite excited about the squad as well. We know what happened in the last WTC final as well. We have played here before."
He further added, "We have been playing cricket like this for years and years. That's why we talk about workload management. So, that they (players) are available for important matches. To make sure everyone is fresh. Even last year we played IPL and then we came to the UK and played one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is"
"We as a team know what we have won and when was the last time we won. There is no point thinking about it and take pressure we just want to focus on the game, " said Rohit.
"We will have a team briefing in the evening. A lot of guys have played in these situations. They have gone through these situations before. At some stage, they have faced pressure. We will have a good time in the middle. I had a look at the pitch so it will assist the seamers. The last time we played the reverse swing also happened on the last day," he added.
The Indian skipper also mentioned former Australian player, Ricky Ponting.
"Ricky Ponting is free to give his opinions. A lot of experts do and we know what is at stake for us," Sharma said.
Rohit Sharma said, "Shubman Gill has played in these conditions before. He likes to bat and spend time in the middle and face that challenge. To be honest not really too much to tell him. It is about giving him more and more confidence."
In Test cricket, Shubman Gill has scored 890 runs in 28 innings. His highest score was 128 runs which came against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The right-handed batsman has scored two centuries and four half-centuries in Test cricket. He has smashed 104 boundaries and 13 sixes.
When asked about the weather conditions, Rohit Sharma said, " The weather looks alright. We will see the conditions tomorrow and then we will take the call. We as a team know what we have won and when was the last time we won. There is no point in thinking about it and taking pressure we just want to focus on the game."
When asked about teammate Ashwin, Rohit Sharma said, " I am not saying that we will not play Ashwin. We will see the conditions and then take a call. Weather changes every day in England."
While concluding he said, "The last Championship we played was also a 10.30 start. It does not make too much of a difference in half an hour."
Indian cricket team has been seen practicing in England ahead of the WTC Final. Since it's an optional practice session, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur did not turn up for practice.
Rohit Sharma, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav turned up for practice.
India:Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players:Suryakumar Yadav, Mukesh Kumar and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Australia squad:Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
Standby players:Mitch Marsh, and Matthew Renshaw.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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