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The highly-anticipated ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia is looming closer and closer as the grand finale is set to take place at the Oval on June 7. Recently, a source close to ICC clarified that Dukes balls will be used for the final as the host nation gets to decide the ball type and both the participants have no say in the choice of the ball.
The softness of the Dukes ball has been an issue of concern for quite some time now. Players have complained that the ball becomes soft very quickly and it becomes difficult to continue with the same ball.
For Test matches held in India, the SG ball is used and for the Test matches held in Australia, the Kookaburra ball is used. Recently, the ICC source told News18 that the decision to choose the ball type remains with the host nation, hence the WTC Final will be played by the Dukes ball only as that is the ball that is primarily used there. This has been the rule for all the ICC events for quite some time now.
Both India and Australia have declared their squads for the World Test Championship final recently. The BCCI has been keeping an eye on the workload of the players who are part of the WTC final squad during the IPL. Captain Rohit Sharma had earlier said, "We are sending a few dukes balls to bowlers who will be in the WTC squad to practice before the marquee event."
It is also being reported that players from the IPL teams, who do not qualify for the IPL playoffs will be sent to England early to get used to the conditions.
