The preparations are in full swing for the final of ICC World Test Championship with India cricketers arriving in England in batches due to their involvement in the IPL 2023.
Nearly every member of the India WTC squad barring Cheteshwar Pujara was part of the T20 league that lasted nearly two months. And with just a few days remaining before the big final against Australia gets underway, the players will have to make adjustments to their style of play and also get accustomed to the English weather.
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The legendary Sunil Gavaskar points out the difference in the bat speeds when playing T20 and Test cricket which will be crucial. The flat wickets and subcontinent conditions give batters a free license to go hammer and tongs but in England the ball swings and the pitch will offer assistance to the bowlers.
“I think they (Indian batters) are going to look at their bat speed. Coming from T20 where the bat speed is very fast to Test cricket where the bat speeds got to be a lot more control, that is something they’ll need to do,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“They’ll need to play in England as late as possible to allow for the swing to do it’s bit, not to reach out for the ball which often a lot of people make the mistake having played on good pitches. Wherever you play on good pitches, you tend to play through the line, not necessarily half volleys, but in England those deliveries can move just that little bit. So, I think those are the things that as a batter you need to watch out for,” he added.
Dukes balls will be used for the WTC final and Gavaskar has asked Indian bowlers to stick to a fuller length to get the ball to move. “As a bowling unit also you’ll need to bowl a much fuller length for your new ball, for the bowlers to be able to get the movement in the air as well as after pitching,” he said.
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The cold weather will also make an impact with players needing time to get acclimatized. However, they will only have to rely on training sessions to get used to the conditions as no warm-up match has been scheduled ahead of the final.
“I think the English conditions are challenging because firstly we are used to play with the sun on our backs. When you are playing in England, often you are playing in conditions where there is no sun, it’s a little overcast, the weather is a little bit cooler, so you sometimes wear a jumper. That’s something that you know, the Indian player, West Indian players and Sri Lankan players are not really used to so that can be just a little bit of a dampener, little sort of light but you just feel little bit encumbered by that,” Gavaskar said.
He continued, “So, that is one thing and because in these conditions the ball tends to swing in the air not just after pitching which doesn’t happen in India and therefore the swing in the air is what sometimes can take you some time to get used to…and which is a reason people generally when you are going overseas suggest that you should may be play two or three warm-up matches, which will give you a better idea of what to get when you are playing in a test match.”
The starts from June 7 at The Oval in London.
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