As the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia approaches, the discussion around favorites has been a topic of debate among cricketing experts. Despite India’s dominance in Test cricket, legendary cricketers Ravi Shastri, Ricky Ponting, and Wasim Akram have labeled Australia as the “slight favorites.” However, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid provided a resolute response to the conversation during a media interaction in London.
Shastri, in a conversation with Star Sports, acknowledged Australia’s advantage on paper in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Ponting echoed a similar sentiment, emphasizing that Indian players might be fatigued after the IPL 2023 season compared to their Australian counterparts, who enter the contest with a refreshed mindset. Akram also backed the Australian team as favorites.
On Monday, ahead of the final, Dravid was informed about the experts’ opinions and questioned if the lack of hype could work in India’s favor. Dismissing the “favorites” discussion, the veteran batter expressed confidence in the leadership of Rohit Sharma and the entire team to emerge as champions.
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As per the quotes in Hindustan Times, Rahul Dravid stated, “Whatever happens, it will happen over the next 5 days. Whatever happens before that, whatever is being said before and after doesn’t matter. Who is the favorite, and who is not… these are two good teams who are playing. Both teams have some good players. I have very good hope that if we play good cricket, if we can take 20 wickets and score runs, I have confidence that we can win this. Probably, not having hype is a good thing.”
A victory in the WTC Final would mark India’s first ICC trophy win since their triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. While it is their second attempt at the WTC title following their loss to New Zealand in the 2021 final, Dravid stressed that the team does not feel additional pressure due to the ICC trophy drought.
“We don’t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy. Of course, it would be nice to do it. Nice to be able to win an ICC tournament,” Dravid stated.
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He further added, “But also, in the context of things, you look at this and you see this is the culmination of 2 years of work, the culmination of a lot of success that gets you here. There are a lot of positives to take from that, see where you stand in the table, winning series in Australia, drawing series here. Being very competitive, this team has played in the world over in the last 5-6 years. Those are things that will never change, just because you don’t have an ICC trophy. That’s really the bigger picture.”
As the cricketing world eagerly awaits the final showdown, India remains focused on their preparations and remains determined to seize the coveted WTC title.
