Srinagar: After another heartbreak for the Star batter Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League with RCB knocked out, the Team India mainstay batter would be leaving for England alongwith another seven India cricketers for the World Test Championship Final on Tuesday.
According to Sportstar, Kohli will be accompanied by his RCB teammate Mohammed Siraj after the team were knocked out from the race to the playoffs on Sunday by Gujarat Titans.
Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and pacers Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat will also be on the same flight.
Unadkat and Umesh were out with injuries during the IPL 2023 season with Lucknow Super Giants, who made the playoffs on Saturday, having replaced the former. Both the pacers have passed the fitness test at the National Cricket Academy.
Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar, who is part of the reserve list, is also part of the first batch of Indian players to leave for England.
Cheteshwar Pujara is already in England as he playing County Cricket for Sussex.
The remaining players – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, K S Bharat and Ajinkya Rahane – will only head to England after their IPL duties.
While most Indian players have been involved in the two-month long IPL 2023 season, only three WTC-bound Australians were part of the league.
This is the second time India have reached the WTC final. They had lost to the Kane Williamson-led side in the 2021 final at the Lord’s. A win would also mean a first ever ICC trophy for the Indian team since their Champions Trophy haul in 2013 under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
