The BCCI has introduced the Indian squad for the World Test Championship Final scheduled to start on June 7 at Kennington Oval in opposition to Australia. Senior India batter Ajinkya Rahane made his India comeback on the again of a stellar present within the Ranji Trophy and adopted it up with an excellent run in IPL for Chennai Super Kings.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar hailed the choice of Rahane within the Test facet as a alternative for Shreyas Iyer and claimed the Mumbaikar has been rewarded for a great present within the home circuit. (WTC Finals 2023: ‘Get Ready For Rahane 2.0,’ Netizens React As Ajinkya Rahane Makes Comeback In Test Squad)
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned, “That was the only change needed for the Indian side. They needed a replacement for Shreyas Iyer. Ajinkya Rahane finds himself in the WTC squad not because of his current IPL form, mind you, he was in a pretty decent form in the Ranji Trophy. He did very well for Mumbai in the domestic season. The question now is in the final eleven, who’s going to be playing? Whether it will be KS Bharat the wicket-keeper or KL Rahul. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
While selecting his Playing 11 for the WTC Final, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned, “Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be my opening picks, Cheteshwar Pujara at three, Virat Kohli at four, Ajinkya Rahane at five, KL Rahul at six who’ll keep the wickets as well. Then there will be Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, followed by Jaidev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami and Mohd Siraj.”
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan additionally reckoned that Rahane’s previous performances in abroad situations will bode him nicely.
WTC Finals 2023: Ajinkya Rahane Is Back, A Look At His Top Knocks For Team India – In Pics
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, Irfan Pathan mentioned, “Had Shreyas Iyer been fit then Rahane would not have got the place in the WTC Final side. But as far as the current form is concerned, he is looking in great touch. The format in which he is playing now is completely different but Rahane’s performance on foreign pitches has always been good and this has gone in his favour.”
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, nevertheless, opined that Suryakumar Yadav ought to have additionally been saved within the squad together with Rahane as a result of SKY can speed up his knock.
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live Harbhajan Singh mentioned, “I would have kept both Surya and Rahane in the team. I would have played Surya instead of Axar because you are not going to play with three spinners in English conditions. In such a situation, having Surya in the team would have given an additional advantage to the batting line-up.”
