Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has identified three players who could play crucial roles for their teams in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia at The Oval in London.
Ahead of the summit clash, Tendulkar believes that Marnus Labuschagne and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have been involved in County cricket, can bring significant value to their respective sides.
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“Playing in County cricket can be of great value. Both Pujara and Labuschagne had a good stint in County cricket recently. Smith, not as much as the other two, but any match practice one can get is very handy because the conditions are different,” Tendulkar told news agency PTI in an interview.
While many Australian players chose to take a break, the Indian team will arrive after completing the entire Indian Premier League 2023 season. Both teams will have a few intra-squad practice sessions but have not played any warm-up matches against County sides.
“Our players have been involved in T20 cricket, and now they have gone to England, just like some players from Australia who were playing T20 here. But I believe playing practice matches… there is no better practice than that,” Tendulkar said.
Tendulkar also predicted that the spin-friendly pitch at The Oval will give India confidence in the WTC final and that their spinners could be twice as effective if they can generate “that drift” and make the ball talk in the air.
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“The Indian team will be pleased to be playing at The Oval. The nature of the pitch there favors spinners as the match progresses. So, spinners will come into play to some extent,” Tendulkar said.
“It doesn’t always have to be a turning track. Spinners sometimes rely on bounce, the slight zip they get off the pitch, and the overhead conditions. It also depends on the shine on the ball,” Tendulkar concluded.
Tendulkar believes India can take advantage of the pitch conditions, despite having two exceptional spinners to choose from in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The clash between India and Australia will commence at The Oval on June 7th, Wednesday.
