Was Ajinkya Rahane Selected In WTC Final Only On IPL Form?

The selection of veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane in India’s squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will meet Australia in June at The Oval, has created a big debate among fans and experts.

While many fans and experts have supported this decision by the selection committee, a section of fans are not agreeing with it, saying that Ajinkya Rahane’s selection shouldn’t have been based on his IPL form.

This is not entirely true though.

Ajinkya Rahane had good numbers in the Ranji Trophy before even the IPL got started

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has slammed those critics of this selection of Ajinkya Rahane, saying that the Mumbai batsman had shown good form in domestic cricket.

Ajinkya Rahane led the Mumbai team in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy. And while the side failed to reach the knockouts, Rahane scored 634 runs in 11 innings at an average of 57.64, including two centuries, one of which was a double hundred.

Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Shastri said: “I’m so glad he’s made it to the side. He batted beautifully in these two-three games he’s played in the IPL, has looked in great touch. And let’s not forget the experience he has. The moment Shreyas Iyer was injured, you had to look in that direction.”

“People think he’s just played three IPL games and that’s why he’s in the side. They must have been on holiday for six months when he was playing first-class cricket. They must’ve been somewhere in the jungle where there’s no contact with anyone in the world. When you go six months into a holiday, you miss those 600 runs.”

In the IPL 2023, for the Chennai Super Kings, Ajinkya Rahane has been in surreal touch. Until his selection was announced, the CSK number 3 had cracked 209 runs at an average of 52 and a tremendous strike rate of 199. He didn’t turn back the clock, but instead tore himself into a new avatar. Until that point, nobody had scored more runs in the powerplay at a higher strike rate than Rahane.

So it wasn’t just that his form in the IPL that was looked at, but it was his confidene, his experience that the selectors are banking on in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who has been ruled out of action for a few months.

In a one-off match that if the WTC final, Ravi Shastri believes this is a bang on recall given to Rahane by the selectors.

“Absolutely, it’s a one-off big game, like the Super Bowl, and you need your experienced player. Don’t forget just two-and-a-half years ago, the man won a Test series in Australia. He was the captain when Virat [Kohli] went [on paternity leave] and did a sterling job,” the former head coach stated.

“People forget that hundred at the MCG, the way he played, and the fact that he’s gone back to the grind. You saw what it did with Pujara, he went back to the grind playing domestic cricket, playing county cricket, just got the number of runs under his belt, then came back into Test cricket and performed. It’s the same thing with Rahane, let’s hope that experience comes handy.”