IPL had paved the way for Ajinkya Rahane's Test comeback after more than a year, but it was not the case for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
The structure of the nine-team WTC remains intact with each side playing three home and as many away series over a two-year period culminating in the final of a one-off Test.
WTC-bound SA players to miss play-offs after BCCI asks teams to release them by May 26
Pat Cummins, who is down with a back injury, will miss the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and India and also the Sheffield Shield matches in the run-up to the Ashes.
The truth of the matter is that India lost their second successive WTC final on day two of this encounter when they collapsed to 71/4 in response to Australia's first-innings total of 469.
Rohit Sharma blamed poor bowling in the first innings for their crushing defeat
India's last ICC title win came a decade ago in the 2013 Champions Trophy, but Rohit said there was no point in dwelling on past disappointments.
Australia suffered a big setback after senior fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the World Test Championship final against India.
Kohli has reached the UK along with Mohammad Siraj, and the team is training at Kent Cricket Ground ahead of the final.
India will miss Virat Kohli more than Rohit Sharma in the marquee Test series against England and the duo's recent retirement from the format will "hurt" the transitioning team's chances in the rubber starting on Friday, reckons the legendary Geoffrey Boycott.
Steve Smith has once again proved why he's Australia's go-to man in crunch matches-by eclipsing none other than Sachin Tendulkar in a major ICC knockout record.
''South Africa have got some world class batters and obviously they've got some unbelievable bowlers there as well so it's going to be a good challenge and obviously it's a one-off Test match.'
Ahead of the WTC final between India and Australia, Ricky Ponting picked Australia's playing XI.
Taking aim at senior players like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, among others, he said that if their aim was to prolong their send-offs till after the Ashes, it was a wrong mindset.
India, who defeated England by five wickets in the fourth Test in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, replaced the Kiwis with a stronger points percentage of 64.58.
Cheteshwar Pujara will get a chance to sneak peek into Steve Smith's preparations ahead of the high-profile World Test Championship final, starting June 7, as the former Australian skipper gears up to play three English county games for Sussex this month.
Bavuma, in his Test journey of over a decade, as the first black batter for South Africa, has faced a lot of ups and downs. A magnificent century against England in Cape Town back in 2016 attached to him plenty of expectations.
The final will be played at the Oval from June 7-11.
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
'To not see the result that you want to, it can be very disheartening and that is what everyone's feeling right now.'
Aiden Markram hopes South Africa's ICC World Test Championship Final win over Australia has silenced any doubters and consigned their 'chokers' tag to history.
Sri Lanka bid to sweep New Zealand and reach WTC final
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
Kagiso Rabada etched another milestone into his illustrious career on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said K S Bharat would be the 'obvious choice' of the team management for the wicketkeeper's role in the WTC final against Australia
Former India selector Sandeep Singh picked India's playing XI for the WTC Final.
Glimpses of Team India's training session on Sunday.
With the planned ceremony not going ahead in the UK, a formal announcement on the renaming of the trophy is scheduled for June 19, on the eve of the series-opener at Leeds.
'I know we've got a big series but we can worry about that in a couple days' time. You only get a few of these moments in your career where you can sit back, acknowledge a pretty special achievement and that's one of these times.'
The much-debated idea of a two-tier Test system, expansion of the T20 World Cup and ratification of new members are some of the topics that will be discussed in depth during the four-day AGM of the International Cricket Council.
Australia finished the 2021-23 WTC cycle on top of the table, their only loss being the 2-1 away defeat to India earlier this year.
The head groundsman of the Oval promised a bouncy pitch for the WTC Final between India and Australia.
One of the factors that contributed to the downfall of the Indian team was the shambolic batting display throughout the series. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja thoroughly underperformed.
'I would have picked Ashwin for his batting, let alone his bowling. That is why I can't believe he isn't playing because he has got five Test centuries as well. It is very strange.'
Sunil Gavaskar believes switching from the T20 mode in the IPL to Test cricket will be the biggest challenge for the Indian players when they take on Australia.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said he was pleased to confirm two iconic venues for the next two cycles.
Pat Cummins produced a vicious bowling onslaught to leave India battered and bruised as Australia took a 296-run lead on day three.
David Warner has been under pressure after a poor run of form with the bat but returned after injury to the 17-man squad for the June 7 WTC final against India at The Oval and the first two Ashes Tests.
India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
Josh Hazlewood is likely to rejoin Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL playoffs, having recovered from a shoulder niggle.
