I don't see any concerns with regards to batting or bowling going into the WTC final: Sarandeep Singh

Ahead of the World Test Championship final, former India selector, Sarandeep Singh, stated that according to him, India's batting and bowling look sorted at the moment. Notably, players like Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj were on song in the recently concluded IPL 2023, while Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli wreaked havoc with the bat. Thus, the Indian team will be confident of their chances. 

On the other hand, the 43-year-old believes that the team management should play Umesh Yadav instead of Shardul Thakur in the final. Citing the reason for it is Yadav's extra pace and reverse swing abilities with the old ball. As a result, it can turn out to be beneficial for the Indian team while playing at the Oval. 

"I am picking Umesh ahead of Shardul because he has that extra pace and he can reverse the old ball, he can be very helpful on that Oval track," Sarandeep was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"All of India's batters are in good form going into the one-off game and that bodes well for the team. I don't see any concerns with regards to batting or bowling going into the final. All of them are in form. Yes, the conditions will be challenging in England as always and they will be shifting to Test mode from T20s," he continued.

"The weather can change on a daily basis and India will have to adapt. Facing bowlers like Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood is a huge challenge but we have a world-class batting attack. Shubman is the only one who has not played a lot in England but he is in the form of his life and should do great things there," Singh added.

Sarandeeep backs KS Bharat over Ishan Kishan in WTC final

The former cricketer also added that the team should play KS Bharat instead of Ishan Kishan in the WTC final as the latter doesn’t have enough experience batting in the middle order. He also called Bharat a proper Test wicket-keeper and believes that he should get the opportunity.

“KS Bharat for sure. He is a proper Test match wicketkeeper and we saw that against Australia at home, he kept superbly. He has been around for a while and he should get the opportunity. Ishan is an opener. I am not saying he is not capable of playing Tests. He is one for the future but he opens in limited-overs cricket. Things will be different at number six. Yes, he goes hard from ball one, which can be counter productive in England, but Bharat can also bat well and play shots also,” Sarandeep reasoned.