Former India players Ravi Shastri and Aakash Chopra have shared opposite views on the Indian team squad for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final which will be played in the Oval in London on June 7-11.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian team squad for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final and saw the return of Ajinkya Rahane to the red-ball squad.
Rahane had last played for India in Tests in January 2022 against South Africa and since then was dropped after poor performances against New Zealand in the series at home. He had also lost his central contract in the BCCI’s central contracts list for the current cycle.
However, he ended up as Mumbai’s leading scorer in the Ranji Trophy, with 634 runs from seven matches, including a double-century against Hyderabad, and 191 against Assam.
He has also done well for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing IPL 2023 and had earned his recall in the Indian Test team. He has been recalled since Shreyas Iyer is unavailable due to his back surgery.
However, former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned why did the selectors dropped Suryakumar Yadav, who had batted at no.4 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer in the first two Tests against Australia at home recently.
“Happy for Rahane. But how does the SKY inclusion-exclusion make sense?? Select kyon kiya…kar liya toh ek match ke baad drop kyon kiya?”: Chopra tweeted:
Happy for Rahane. But how does the SKY inclusion-exclusion make sense?? Select kyon kiya…kar liya toh ek match ke baad drop kyon kiya?
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 25, 2023
Well Done Selectors: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, said that it was the best Indian team that was selected and congratulated the selectors as well.
“Best Indian team selected. Well done selectors and team management ?? #WTCFinal2023 #TeamIndia,” Shastri tweeted.
Best Indian team selected. Well done selectors and team management ?? #WTCFinal2023 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/olIK46GO96
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) April 25, 2023
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat