India will take on Australia at the Oval in the final of the WTC cycle 2021-2023, which begins June 7.

After the World Test Championship (2021 final) in Southampton, we had to regroup quickly and prepare for the next cycle, Rohit said in a video posted by the BCCI on its website.

I think we played some very, very difficult cricket in that cycle. We were challenged a lot, and I thought it would obviously take a lot of character, not just from a few people, but from everybody, to get out of that situation. Rohit was full of praise for the combative character of his teammates after the disappointment of losing the inaugural WTC final to New Zealand in 2021.

Look, it’s a two-year cycle, and we play a lot of test matches during that period. A lot of players have played in this cycle, he said.

Different players have come out on top, showing the results we’ve come to expect from them. India will be without the services of three key players – Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah – for the upcoming WTC finals.

While Bumrah and Iyer are out due to injuries, Pant is recovering from a horrific car accident earlier this year.

Apart from Rohit, Pant and Iyer were the only two Indian batters to average over 40 runs in the inaugural WTC, scoring over 500 runs, while Bumrah scored 45 wickets in 10 Tests during that period.

Senior National Team India batter Cheteshwar Pujara said the team should celebrate the contribution of this trio.

There were many players who contributed to the team. Some of them are not in this lineup now, but it’s important that we recognize all the players who have contributed this cycle, Pujara said.

It’s been a great team effort … the team management, the captain, everyone has been looking forward to this moment when we get to the WTC finals, and the guys are excited to play on the Oval. We have good memories from the game against England in the UK. Overall, if you look at the last couple of years, it’s been a very good road for the Indian Test team. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said getting to the WTC finals in a row is no big feat.

The turning point definitely started in 2014. MC Dhoni had just retired and we had all played a few tests … and we needed to start our own way, Ashwin said.

There was never a lIt’s not easy without the seniors, but I can say with confidence that all the efforts we have made have borne real fruit over the last two cycles of the WTC.

This is the second time in a row that we have qualified (for the WTC finals). It’s not easy. We would have loved to win the series in India 3-1 or 3-0 or whatever, but Australia played some good cricket. We couldn’t do it. Nevertheless, we were rewarded for playing consistent cricket with this final.