Pant was the best hitter in red-ball cricket for India until his accident last year. He scored 868 runs at an average of 43.41. His strike rate of 80.81 on countless occasions forced opponents to retreat on their hind legs during that phase.

Twins spinners Ashwin and Jadeja, on the other hand, were key components of the Indian contingent with both the bat and the ball. Earlier this year at the Border-Gavaskar tournament, the duo defeated the Aussies and helped the home team win the series 2-1. Jadeja was named the tournament’s best player in the series.

However, while both performed well, the question of who gets to play in the WTC Finals, which begin June 7 on the Oval, remains open. In the previous finals in 2021, India decided to use both spinners after the first day was washed out. Both bowlers ended up playing a total of 22 ounces in the first inning.

Later in the summer against England, India chose Jadeja instead of Ashwin as the only spinner, and chose Shardul Thakur as the additional seam bowler. However, given the number of left-arm players in the Australian team, Rohit Sharma might be tempted to pick Ashwin this time.

Cricket Australia’s WTC tournament team: Khawaja, Karunaratne, Babar, Root, Head, Jadeja, Pant, Ashwin, Cummins (C), Anderson, Rabada.