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- India and Australia will use Dukes balls for the WTC final, which are used in England.
- Indian fast bowlers will be given Dukes balls to practice during the IPL 2023 to prepare for the final.
- Players from IPL teams knocked out of playoffs will be sent to England early to acclimatize to the conditions.
India and Australia are gearing up for the final of the World Test Championship 2023 (WTC 2023 final), set to take place on June 7 at The Oval. This will be India’s second consecutive appearance in the WTC final, having lost to New Zealand in June 2021. The two teams have announced their squads for the big game, but will be using a different ball from the ones used in their native countries. The final will be played with Dukes balls, which are used in England, as per ICC regulations.
India and Australia prepare for WTC 2023 Final with different ball
An ICC source was quoted as saying by News18, “For all ICC events, the ICC uses the ball of choice of our host country so in this case, the ball for the WTC Final will be Dukes which is used in England.”
To prepare for the final, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has announced that fast bowlers featuring in the WTC final will be given Dukes balls to practice with during the IPL 2023. “We are sending some Duke balls to all fast bowlers and if they get some time to bowl with that but again it all depends on individuals,” Rohit said after the drawn fourth Test vs Australia in March 2023.
Rohit has also said that players from IPL teams knocked out of playoffs will be sent to England as early as possible to acclimatize to the conditions. “Around 21st May, there will be six teams who will be possibly out of IPL playoff contention and so whichever players are available, we will try and find time to get them to the UK as early as possible and we will monitor as much as possible,” Rohit said in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who is not playing in the IPL, is already in England, playing County Championship for Sussex. Pujara has got his preparations up and running and has already hit a hundred in the opening match of the season while leading Sussex this year. For Australia, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood (recovering from injury), Mitchell Marsh, and David Warner are all featuring in the cash-rich league.
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