During the Indian Premier League 2023, Indian players practiced with the red Dukes ball in preparation for the World Test Championship Final. India will face Australia in the WTC summit clash, which will begin on June 7. Patel told the ICC ahead of the match that Indian players were given the Dukes ball to practice with before the IPL 2023. Patel also stated that players would struggle to transition from white-ball to red-ball after two months of intense franchise cricket.
“So even during the IPL, it was discussed that we will bowl with the red ball. We had red balls, so we were using them. You know when and how to play, how much time you have. This mental switch from white ball to red ball is obviously tough, but we have enough time,” Patel told ICC.
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“The difference is the Dukes ball remains shinier for longer. But during the IPL, we had ordered the ball, so were practising with it and have gotten used to it,” he further added.
Indian players arrived in batches in England. The players who did not qualify for the IPL playoffs were the first to leave, followed by captain Rohit Sharma, KS Bharat, and others. Patel insisted that India had enough time to prepare for the final match against Pat Cummins’ team.