Siraj, Axar, Shardul, Umesh to leave for England on Tuesday ahead of WTC final
While R. Ashwin is expected to join the squad mid-week, Virat Kohli’s travel plan could not be ascertained. Jaydev Unadkat, recovering after hurting his ankle during the IPL, will travel later during the week.
Published : May 22, 2023 13:31 IST , Mumbai - 2 MINS READ
FILE PHOTO: Mohammed Siraj in action.
The first batch of India’s contingent, primarily consisting of support staff members, support bowlers and some of the squad members, will leave for England in the wee hours of Tuesday to commence the preparation for the World Test Championship (WTC) final versus Australia, to be played at the Oval in London from June 7.
Sportstar understands that head coach Rahul Dravid, along with other members of the coaching and support staff - rejuvenated after a two-month break - will board a flight to London along with a few members of the squad, a reserve pacer and three net bowlers.
Mukesh Kumar, the promising pacer who is among the reserves, will also travel as part of the first batch. He will be joined by three more pacers - Aniket Choudhary, Akash Deep and Yarra Prithviraj - who have been selected as net bowlers by the national selection panel in consultation with the team management.
The squad members who will travel are from the six franchises whose Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign ended in the league stage. Sportstar could confirm that Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav are travelling as part of the first batch, with Yadav having been cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
While Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to join the squad mid-week, Virat Kohli’s travel plan could not be ascertained. Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat, recovering after hurting his ankle during the IPL, will travel later during the week.
Cheteshwar Pujara, participating in the County Championship, will join the preparations later this week.
The remaining members of the 15-member squad, along with reserves Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad, are expected to leave for London on May 29, the night after the IPL final.