WTC final between India and Australia to be played with Dukes ball: Reports

The World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia, beginning from June 7, will be played with the Dukes ball, as per reports from News18. There were rumors that the team that finished top of the WTC points table would get to decide which ball to play with in the final.

This meant that many assumed the final would be played with the Kookaburra ball. However, an ICC official seems to have confirmed to News18 that the choice of ball lies with the host of the final, which is England in this case. Here's what the source stated:

“For all ICC events, the ICC uses the ball of choice of our host country so in this case, the ball for the WTC Final will be Dukes which is used in England."

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Rohit Sharma on Dukes ball practice ahead of WTC final

After winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said in a press conference that the fast bowlers involved in the World Test Championship final may be asked to practice with the Dukes ball for some time during their training sessions with their respective IPL franchises.

Rohit understands the importance of preparation and here's what he stated:

“We are sending some Duke balls to all fast bowlers and if they get some time to bowl with that but again it all depend on individuals, guys who will be part of the final are not the guys who have not played in the UK and maybe one or two guys here and there and rest all of us have played in that part of the world. I don’t think it will be a huge problem. But yeah, look I believe in preparation and preparations will be key for us come the Final."

After losing the inaugural final of the tournament against New Zealand, India will be determined to go one step better against Australia.