The BCCI on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the much-anticipated World Test Championship (WTC), which will be played in June at The Oval. While the core remains mostly the same, the management decided to bring in Ajinkya Rahane into the mix.
Rahane’s makes a return to the national side after a long wait of 15 months, during which he was engaged with Mumbai rendering his services in the domestic circuit. The Mumbai skipper had a good outing in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy, where he accumulated 634 runs from 11 innings at a healthy average of 57.63.
While this was his show in red-ball, Rahane also stamped his authority in white-ball cricket. After being roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹50 lakh, Rahane made maximum use of the opportunity, which many feel helped him earn a spot in India’s WTC squad.
Batting at a staggering strike-rate of 199.04, Rahane has so far amassed 209 runs from five innings and has been one of CSK’s mainstay in the middle-order.
Despite the imperious form, Rahane’s selection left many puzzled, who slammed BCCI for placing IPL over Ranji Trophy for selection criteria. In fact few even argued Sarfaraz Khan, who has been a hit in the India’s premier red-ball domestic tournament, should have got a chance ahead of his Mumbai colleague.
