"Get your head around leaving the ball again" - Shane Watson on the extreme transition from IPL to WTC final

Shane Watson believes that the quick transition from the fast-paced IPL to the rigors of high-level Test cricket with the red ball in the World Test Championship (WTC) final could pose an extreme challenge. The summit clash between India and Australia is set to be played at the Oval from June 7 onwards.

Several players from the Indian squad and a few from Australia were involved in the IPL that concluded on May 29.

Watson recently spoke to ESPNCricinfo about ways the batters can go about getting acclimatized to the Dukes' ball in England.

"There's no doubt that this transition period for the guys I think is going to have to be extreme," Shane Watson said. "Get as much volume as they possibly can facing new balls, trying to get the nets as spiced up as possible. That's the only way you can get your game back into hitting the ball under your eyes. Yes, you need that positive, aggressive intent but still understanding what balls you can score off and what balls are higher risk."

"For me, the biggest thing came down to most importantly my defense," he continued. "I ended up having to just work on facing the moving ball, making sure I was batting against bowlers with the moving ball or was getting throws against the moving ball and then just making sure I was locking in with my defence.

"Also just starting to get your head around leaving the ball again. What are the danger areas, more so the lines that bowlers would bowl and especially."

While Team India had a similar start date in the previous WTC final in 2021, the postponed IPL season midway through the tournament due to COVID-19 gave them more time to prepare.

Similarly, their tours to England in 2014, 2018, and 2022 began in July or August, giving them significant preparation time.

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"It's a really quick turnaround for a few of the bowlers" - Shane Watson

Shane Watson also spoke about the adjustments for the bowlers due to a quick turnaround, especially from a workload management standpoint ahead of the WTC final.

While most Australian seamers did not participate in the recently concluded IPL, the entire Indian pace and spin attack played the entirety of the season.

Watson felt managing fatigue could be the biggest hurdle in transitioning from T20 to Test cricket.

My body was always a challenge building up workloads at the best of times," Watson said. "Going from T20 cricket intensity with not a lot of fatigue compared to having to try and get your body up and get used to bowling a bit more with fatigue, that was always a challenge for me anyway. So I was always very careful and tried to map it out as much as I could."

"But obviously, it's a really quick turnaround for a few of the bowlers in particular," he added. "Again, it's going to be sink or swim. They've got no choice. They've just got to throw themselves into it and hope that their bodies can hold up and the captains are able to manage the bowlers who are going into playing this Test without a lot of work under their belt."

India will look to overcome the various challenges and win their first ICC title since the Champions Trophy in 2013.