Ajinkya Rahane, former India vice-captain, is in contention for a comeback into the national team for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 against Australia which will be played at the Oval in London against Australia from June 7.
He is being considered as a replacement for injured Shreyas Iyer who is set to undergo back surgery in order to get fit in time for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 after being troubled with the same for quite some time.
Iyer had missed the home limited overs series against New Zealand at home and missed the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 between India and Australia. He made his return for the next two Tests but suffered a relapse of his back issues in the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad while fielding during the Australian innings and didn’t come out to bat during India’s innings.
PTI has reported that Ajinkya Rahane is in contention for a place in the team for the WTC final. The former India vice-captain played the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy season and piled up 634 runs in 7 matches at an average of 57.63. His tally included a century and a double century.
Rahane was dropped from the Test team for the home series against Sri Lanka in 2022. Apart from him, Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, and Cheteshwar Pujara were other seniors who got dropped. Only Pujara has made his India comeback since then. He is also part of the leadership group.
KL Rahul Pipped To Take The Gloves In The WTC Final Against Australia
Meanwhile, the report also suggested that KL Rahul might be asked to take the wicketkeeping duties for the WTC final and bat in the middle order. Rishabh Pant is set to stay on the sidelines for the rest of 2023. KS Bharat played all 4 matches against Australia in his absence. Ishan Kishan was also part of the team but he remained uncapped.
Rahul last kept wickets for India in Tests in 2015 against Sri Lanka when Wriddhiman Saha was injured and though he has donned the gloves in ODIs and T20Is.