WTC Final: Ravi Shastri explains India's significant rise in Test cricket after claiming no. 1 rank

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Former India coach Ravi Shastri has explained India's rise as the no. 1 Test-playing nation in the world. Rohit Sharma's men recently claimed the top spot by toppling Pat Cummins' Australia.

India have made a gradual improvement in the red ball format in the last couple of years. Their latest performances epitomize the significant improvement as India are set to play Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

Ahead of the WTC Final, Ravi Shastri elaborated on India's success in the longest format of the game on the ICC podcast.

"It's a tribute to their consistency, their fitness and the way they've worked over the last five or six years to now be hungry and proud of wanting to belong there," Shastri told host Sanjana Ganesan in the show.

India have played a Test series already against Australia, which they won 2-1 on home soil. It confirmed India's inclusion in the WTC Final for the second time in a row. And Shastri believes the maturity of India's 'battle-hardened' Test players make them a formidable group going forward.

"It's the quality of players. If you look at these players, a lot of these players are at their prime when you look at the Indian Test side. They're experienced, they're at that age where they're battle-hardened, they've travelled around the world. They know what Test cricket is all about, they know what one-day cricket is all about, they know what T20 cricket is all about," the former India coach concluded.

The WTC Final 2023 starts on June 7 at the Oval Stadium in London. If India win the one-off Test match, they will win an ICC trophy for the first time in a decade, since their 2013 Champions Trophy victory, which also happened in England.