BCCI has announced Team India’s Test Squad for WTC Final 2023 on Tuesday, 25th April 2023. Ajinkya Rahane has been included in India’s 15-man squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia to be held at The Oval from June 7.
Rahane last played a Test match for India in January 2022 against South Africa in Cape Town. Since then he has not got a chance in the Indian Test team due to his poor form.
In the recently held 2022-23 Ranji Trophy, Rahane topped the run charts for Mumbai, with two centuries at an average of 57.63 with 634 runs.
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Rahane’s inclusion comes at a time when his IPL career has reached an all-time high. He earned a lot of praise for his power-hitting batting and sixes while playing for Chennai Super Kings under MS Dhoni. In his most recent match on Sunday night, he scored a 29-ball 71 in his man-of-the-match effort against Kolkata Knight Riders.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav and left-hander Jaydev Unadkat are the specialist fast bowlers in this squad. While Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel all come into the squad as spinners.
🚨 NEWS 🚨#TeamIndia squad for ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final announced.
— BCCI (@BCCI) April 25, 2023
Details đź”˝ #WTC23 https://t.co/sz7F5ByfiU pic.twitter.com/KIcH530rOL
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KS Bharat retained his place as the team’s lone specialist keeper, despite several rumblings in the Border-Gavaskar series. With no place for Ishan Kishan in the team, KL Rahul automatically got a place as the reserve keeper batsman.
Shreyas Iyer, who replaced Rahane in the Indian Test team, has been ruled out with a back injury. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav, who made his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar series, has also been left out.
Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team in the World Test Championship 2023 Final but no one has been announced for the Vice Captaincy role. But it is expected that Chesteshwar Pujara, who was Sharma’s deputy in the last two Test matches against Australia at home, would be asked to do the job again.
India’s Test Squad For WTC Final 2023:
| Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat. |
