Few players to leave early to England for WTC final preparation: Rohit Sharma

Ahmedabad: India Captain Rohit Sharma on Monday hinted at sending some players to the UK around May 21 to prepare for the finals of the World Test Championship to be played at The Oval in June.

"Around 21st May, there will be six teams who will be possibly out of IPL playoff contention, and so whichever players are available, we will try and find time to send them to UK as early as possible and get some time and we will monitor as much as possible," he told reporters in the post-match press conference here.

India qualified for the WTC final after New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in their first Test.

"It's quite critical for us. We are going to keep in constant touch with all the players who are going to play that final and monitor their workload and see what's happening with them," Rohit added.

He also said that Duke balls will be sent to all fast bowlers to help them get some practice with them.

"In fact, we are sending some (red) Duke Balls to all fast bowlers and if they get some time to bowl with that but again it all depends on individuals," he said.

Cricket in England is played with Duke balls, unlike India and Australia where SG and Kookaburra balls are used in Test matches.

Replying to a query, India captain felt it won't be a huge problem for the team as many of the players, except few, have played in English conditions.

"Guys who will be part of finals are not the guys who have not played in the UK. Maybe there could be 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," he said. (UNI)