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Ajinkya Rahane's inclusion in Team India's squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final, did raise many eyebrows but the veteran batter truly deserved it.
India and Australia will be up against each other for the ultimate drama of WTC final which will be on display between June 7 to June 11 at the Oval. Rahane hasn't featured for Test match for India since he was dropped after his lackluster show with the bat in the South Africa series 2021-2022. But went through the grind of domestic cricket, scored bulk of runs, proved his mettle, scripted a stunning comeback and now dazzling in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with his new avatar.
Meanwhile, former India coach Ravi Shastri is happy with the inclusion of Rahane in India's Test set-up for the all-important WTC final against Australia.
To an extent, Shreyas Iyer's absence also paved the path for Rahane's comeback.
"I'm so glad he's made it to the side. He batted beautifully in these two-three games he's played in the IPL, has looked in great touch. And let's not forget the experience he has. The moment Shreyas Iyer was injured, you had to look in that direction," Ravi Shastri told ESPNcricinfo.
"People think he's just played three IPL games and that's why he's in the side. They must have been on holiday for six months when he was playing first-class cricket. They must've been somewhere in the jungle where there's no contact with anyone in the world. When you go six months into a holiday, you miss those 600 runs," Ravi Shastri added.
Ravi Shastri also said that Team India would need Rahane for the WTC final for all the experience he brings to the table. Shastri also reminisced Rahane's heroics in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-2021, which laid the foundation of India's historic series victory against Australia.
"Absolutely, it's a one-off big game, like the Super Bowl, and you need your experienced player. Don't forget just two-and-a-half years ago, the man won a Test series in Australia. He was the captain when Virat [Kohli] went [on paternity leave] and did a sterling job," said Ravi Shastri.
Shastri also underlined Rahane's recent exploits in domestic cricket.
"People forget that hundred at the MCG, the way he played, and the fact that he's gone back to the grind. You saw what it did with Pujara, he went back to the grind, playing domestic cricket, playing county cricket, just got the number of runs under his belt, then came back into Test cricket and performed. It's the same thing with Rahane, let's hope that experience comes handy," said Ravi Shastri.
After his dismal outing with the bat in the South Africa series Rahane was dropped from the squad but he didn't give up and went back to the domestic set-up to figure out his shortcomings. He succeeded in his efforts and piled lots of runs in the Ranji Trophy with his spectacular batting and drew selector's attention yet again. Rahane amassed 634 runs in just seven Ranji Trophy matches at an impressive average pf 57. He followed it by putting on a show in the ongoing cash-rich league where he has showed his new avatar. Rahane already has 209 runs under his belt in a total of five matches and has also played couple of match-winning knocks for the four-time champions CSK
India's squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
Australia's squad for WTC final: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
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