Ajinkya Rahane has made a return to the Indian Test team for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and it has created quite a stir on social media. He was excluded from the Test squad after a dismal performance in South Africa, and a month back was removed from BCCI’s central contract.
And hence, fans on Twitter and a few veteran cricketers have blasted the BCCI selection committee for picking Rahane based on his thunderous IPL form. Amid the criticism, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has made a grandiloquent remark on Rahane’s selection.
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In the last year or so, Ajinkya Rahane shifted his focus to domestic cricket and featured in the Mumbai team during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy tournament and the Ranji Trophy tournament as well where he amassed 634 runs at 57.63 in 11 innings comprising two centuries.
However, his inclusion in the Test squad for the WTC final comes at a time when he has been scoring runs at a brisk pace in the IPL, scoring sixes and boundaries at will with his most recent display being the 29-ball 71 against KKR for Chennai Super Kings, fans on social media have been left enraged. They have been questioning the basis of Rahane’s selection.
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Amid the rising criticism, Ravi Shastri gave his verdict on Rahane’s return and the team selection for the WTC final against Australia at The Oval. “Best Indian team selected. Well done selectors and team management #WTCFinal2023 #TeamIndia,” he tweeted along with a photo of the Indian Test team which includes Rahane.
Best Indian team selected. Well done selectors and team management 🇮🇳 #WTCFinal2023 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/olIK46GO96
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) April 25, 2023
Rahane’s return means India had to drop Suryakumar Yadav from the line-up, who had walked in as a reserve batter during the Border-Gavaskar Test series at home and had failed to impress in the only opportunity he had managed in place of an injured Shreyas Iyer. The latter, on the other hand, will be missing from the WTC final owing to his shoulder surgery.
The final between India and Australia will be played at The Oval from June 7-11.
