WTC Final | You got to miss IPL for preparation, opines Ravi Shastri

Rohit Sharma’s post-match conference talk after the World Test Championship final has generated a lot of discussion around the cramped cricketing schedule.  He had stated that the team needed at least 20 to 25 days for preparation just like India’s tour of England in 2021 when the visitors were leading by 2-1 before the final game was postponed. However, the start of the fixture after a week of the conclusion of the IPL provided players with few days to prepare. 

India suffered a defeat by a margin of 205 runs against Australia on Sunday ending up as the runner-up of the WTC for the second successive time. Now, the team will kick off their campaign for the 2023-25 cycle with a Test series in West Indies next month. Also, with the ODI World Cup scheduled to be played in October, India will have to manage the workload of their key players and that might mean resting them from the series. 

"That's what the think-tank and the selectors will have to sit and see, draw a plan, have the vision to see how you replenish your squad. Australians are very good at doing that over the years. They see where they want to be in three years' time. They don't wait for suddenly five players to go away from the side,” he added.

"They're constantly getting in youth. So there's a combination of youth and experience all the time. The youngsters learn quickly from the senior players. So your team is healthy and strong right through. So that planning has to be done. They're hard calls, people might not like it, but it's the team's interest that is paramount and that's how you should look at it."