On Tuesday, the BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the forthcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023. The squad announcement saw the return of veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane in the Indian squad, who last played a Test for India back in January 2022.
Riding on his stellar domestic season, where he ended as the leading scorer in the Ranji Trophy, with 634 runs from seven matches, including a double-century against Hyderabad, and 191 against Assam, Rahane earned this call from the team management. Not just this, Rahane has surprised everyone with his stunning form in the ongoing 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League, where he is plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings.
While Rahane deserved his place in the Indian squad for the marquee tournament, however, one of the players who have failed to make the cut is Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan, despite his impressive run in the red-ball domestic cricket. His absence from the Indian squad has garnered much attention on social media. Several fans on social media were flabbergasted by the omission of Delhi Capitals batter Sarfaraz Khan from the mega-tournament.
Harsha Bhogle Explained Why Ajinkya Rahane Was Selected
Amidst all the criticism, popular Indian commentator and analyst Harsha Bhogle took to his social media and explained why Ajinkya Rahane was preferred over Sarfaraz Khan. He explained that the team needed experience in the side, especially with Hanuma Vihari and Rajat Patidar’s absence from the side. He wrote:
“A thought on the Rahane selection. The top middle order batters in domestic cricket were Sarfaraz and Patidar. Sadly Patidar is injured and Vihari didn’t have a great season. And so it must have come down to Sarfaraz vs Rahane. If the game was in India, they might have picked Sarfaraz but I suspect for a one-off they wanted experience. And when it comes to the last spot, it is always better to go with the instinct of the selectors and team management”
Check out the Tweet:
A thought on the Rahane selection. The top middle order batters in domestic cricket were Sarfaraz and Patidar. Sadly Patidar is injured and Vihari didn't have a great season. And so it must have come down to Sarfaraz vs Rahane. If the game was in India, they might have picked…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 26, 2023
Squads For WTC 2023 Final:
India’s Test squad WTC final 2023:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
Australia’s Test Squad WTC final 2023:
Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
