In addition, Moody picked returnee Ajinkya Rahane at No. 5. In addition to Moody, former Indian selector Sarandeep Singh also chose KC Bharat over Kishan. KS Bharat certainly did. He is a real wicketkeeper for Test matches, and we saw that in the home match against Australia, he held up well. He has been around for a while and should get this opportunity,

Ishaan is the opener. I’m not saying he’s not capable of playing in Tests. He is one of the future players, but he is an opener in limited-overs cricket. It will be different under number six.

Yes, he hits hard from the first ball, which can be counterproductive in England, but Bharat can bat well and play shots too, he reasoned.

Nevertheless, Sarandeep chose Umesh Yadav over Shardul Thakur as the fourth seamer. I choose Umesh over Shardul because he has extra pace and can turn the old ball over, he can be very useful on the Oval circuit.

India qualified second in the 2023 World Test Championship final with 127 points and 58.8 points on the percentage system (PCT). Although they lost the series in South Africa and drew a five-match series in England, India achieved a near-perfect result at home, beating New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia, and another triumph in an away series in Bangladesh.

Australia, by contrast, topped the standings, winning all three home series of the 2021/23 cycle, including a 4-0 rout at Ashes. In addition, the Pat Cummins-led team won 1-0 in Pakistan and drew 1-1 in Sri Lanka before losing 2-1 in India.

This is India’s second appearance in the World Test finals of the two so far. The Virat Kohli-led team lost to Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the top match of the 2019/21 cycle.