The World Test Championship 2023-25 is about to see its conclusion as defending champions Australia and South Africa prepare themselves for the final to be played at the Lord's from June 11 to 15.
This will be the first time that India — the runners-up from the previous two editions of the Championship, would not be featuring in the match after the recent debacle at home against New Zealand and away in Australia.
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However, despite the struggle, two shining lights for India over the last cycle have been the duo of Jasprit Bumrah, who scalped a whopping 32 wickets in 9 innings in the Border Gavaskar Trophy like a man possessed and southpaw, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who impressed everyone at the top, over the last couple of years.
Following the Test retirements after a rather average cycle for Indian legends, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the duo faced a snub from a star-studded list that consists of 2 players from the Fab-4.
Cricket Australia shared a similar sentiment as they announced the best 12 of the WTC 2023-25 ahead of the final next week, as they ended up adding them as the only two Indians in the list. See the 12 below.
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What is Cricket Australia's best playing XI of the WTC 2023-25 cycle?
In the team that was announced on June 4, interestingly, no South African featured in the XI, while Kagiso Rabada found his place as the 12th man.
The team consists of 3 from Australia, 2 players each from India, England and New Zealand, 3 Australians and a name each from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Below is the best XI announced by Cricket Australia:
- Yashasvi Jaiswal - India
- Usman Khawaja - Australia
- Kane Williamson - New Zealand
- Joe Root - England
- Harry Brook - England
- Kamindu Mendis - Sri Lanka
- Alex Carey (wk) - Australia
- Pat Cummins (c) - Australia
- Jasprit Bumrah - India
- Matt Henry - New Zealand
- Noman Ali - Pakistan
- Kagiso Rabada - South Africa