India’s veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane has finally made a comeback into the Indian squad to take part in the upcoming WTC final against Australia. The Mumbai-based batter has played 82 Test matches for India until he was asked to sit out in January last year due to his poor run. But then in the ongoing IPL 2023, he again gained selectors’ faith by playing a few crucial knocks, and as a result, he got a place in the Test side for the WTC finals.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also supported the decision to add Rahane in the Indian squad and said since Shreyas Iyer is injured, the management did not have any other alternative.
"Ajinkya Rahane has been playing for India for a long time now and he has also captained the team. He is a very capable player with a great technique. I feel the decision has been taken keeping in mind his present form and hence has been recalled because Shreyas Iyer is still not part of the team. And with Iyer absent, it serves an opportunity to Rahane and it's a big match. He is a big player as well and I hope he gives that big performance to justify the selection. I support this selection 100 per cent and I feel it is a great decision. There was actually no other solution other than this," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
"The one person who has missed this tour is Suryakumar Yadav. He should have been part of the team. Maybe instead of carrying three spinners, they could have carried an extra batter. Because you need that one batsman in the middle order who can destroy the opposition and only Suryakumar could have done that. He first got him into the Test team because he was in great form. Yes he has had a rough patch of 4-5 matches but if IPL is the criteria for selection for other players then even he should have been picked, even he has found that rhythm" he added.