Ajinkya Rahane is back to the Indian team after a spectacular performance in the IPL 2023, as the BCCI confirmed a 15-man Indian roster for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval in England starting June 7; this year. KL Rahul returns to the lineup after being dropped for the final two Tests of the Australia series.
Rahane has rejoined the Indian team after a 15-month absence. He last appeared in a Test series against South Africa in January 2022. Rahane’s performance for CSK in the IPL, albeit in a different format, is said to be the main reason for his return. The unavailability of middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is also a key factor.
Iyer recently underwent back surgery and will be out of commission for some time. On the other hand, Pant began his lengthy recuperation process following a car accident in December of last year.
Rahane has been in excellent form in this IPL. He scored 209 runs in only five games for CSK at an astounding strike rate of 199.05, 62 higher than his previous best in 2019. However, one should not forget that Rahane hit 634 runs in seven matches at an average of 57 in the previous Ranji Trophy.
Apart from Rahane, veteran pro-KL Rahul has made it to the 15-man team after being stripped of vice-captaincy and a spot in the squad for the final two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests against Australia. Rahul, on the other hand, is unlikely to be selected as an opener. Instead, he can don the gloves and bat in the middle order, as scheduled keeper-batter KS Bharat may not make the XI due to his bat weaknesses.
In English conditions, where the ball is likely to swing, the team management has relied on Rahul and Rahane’s experience.
Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel, the spin-bowling all-rounders, have retained their positions in the squad. It’s improbable that the three of them will ever play together. If things are favourable for seamers, the management may choose Shardul Thakur as the fourth pacer, which means that just one of Ashwin, Jadeja, or Axar will play as a spinner.
In the absence of pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is also ruled out due to a back disease, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be tasked with leading the pace attack. Veterans Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav will compete for the 3rd seamer spot. Given the Indian team management’s aversion to playing Umesh in foreign conditions, Unadkat, who also provides the left-arm angle, may be preferred.
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were likely to be left out. Sarfaraz Khan’s name would have been mentioned after his successful Ranji seasons, but his weakness against top-quality pace was exposed in the 2017 IPL.
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