Test Championship final: Virat Kohli & other Team India members set to leave for UK tomorrow

Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 group stage matches, players from the team that did not advance to the playoffs are set to leave for the United Kingdom on Tuesday (May 23), ahead of the Test Championship final. Former India captain Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Jaydev Unadkat are among the first group of players to depart for London.

The Rohit Sharma-led India will lock horns against Pat Cummins-led Australia from June 7 at the Oval in London in the second edition of the Test Championship final. The Indian skipper will join the camp along with the rest of the squad after completing their IPL duties for their respective franchises. However, it is not known when head coach Rahul Dravid will join the team to lead the preparation phase.

Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore have been eliminated from the IPL after losing to Gujarat Titans in a crucial match on Sunday, which secured Rohit's MI a place in the last four. His campaign came to an end after hitting two magnificent centuries in must-win games and will now look to shift his focus entirely to the longer format of the game.

There were concerns over the fitness of pacer Unadkat, who was injured while bowling in the nets during Lucknow Super Giants' training session. However, it is reported that the experts at the National Cricket Academy have cleared the left-hander as fit. Uncapped players who are in the reserves such as Mukesh Kumar, Aniket Choudhary, Akash Deep, and Yarra Prithviraj will also travel with the initial batch.

Test Championship Final Squads

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith (VC), David Warner, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Harris, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Todd Murphy.