Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced that England’s Richard Illingworth and New Zealand’s Chris Gaffey will be field umpires for the upcoming World Test Championship final (WTC) between India and Australia in London. will be as
Announcing the match officials for the World Test Championship (WTC) final to be held from June 7 to 11 at The Oval, the ICC said in a press release that New Zealand’s Chris Gaffney and England’s Richard Illingworth have been appointed as field umpires for the WTC final. Also, the ICC said that June 12 has been chosen as a ‘reserve day’ to make up for the time lost during the five-day game if required. This will be 49-year-old Gaffney’s 49th Test match while 59-year-old Illingworth will be umpiring in his 64th match. Illingworth also umpired in the inaugural final of the WTC two years ago in which New Zealand won by eight wickets over India in Southampton. Another English umpire, Richard Kettleborough, will also officiate the second WTC final in a row, having once again been appointed as the TV umpire.
WTC Final: Kohli practices with Team India
Orandale: India’s star batsman Virat Kohli joined the national cricket team’s practice session along with left-arm seamer Jaydev Undkat at Orandale Castle Cricket Club on Monday. Undkat seems to have recovered from a left shoulder injury. The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) will be played between India and Australia from June 7 to 11 at the Oval.
The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday shared a picture of the Indian team members on its official Twitter handle, including fast bowlers Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav, apart from Kohli. BCCI said in a tweet that the members of Team India have started their preparations for WTC 2023 at Orandale Castle Cricket Club. Kohli, Umesh and Siraj could be seen jogging in new training kits while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was seen bowling in the nets.
Undkat also spoke to head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambre. In preparation for the final, Cheteshwar Pujara, who is playing for Sussex in the English county, also arrived for training. Umesh and Shardul Thakur were among the initial group of Indian players to arrive here. Captain Rohit Sharma and Mumbai’s young opener Yashaswi Jaiswal have also reached here. The final group comprising of Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, KS Bharath and Ajinkya Rahane will leave for England on Tuesday after the IPL final in Ahmedabad.
Jaiswal has been included in the squad as a standby player after Rituraj Gaekwad has informed the BCCI that he is getting married on June 3 and 4. In the first final of the World Test Championship in 2021, India lost by eight wickets to a Kane Williamson-led New Zealand team in Southampton. India will not play any warm-up matches before the WTC finals.