Former India batsman Wasim Jaffer praised senior batsman Ajinkya Rahane for his terrific comeback into the Indian Test team in the World Test Championship Final 2023 against Australia, which India lost by 209 runs at The Oval.
Ajinkya made a successful comeback to the Test side after being away for over a year with scores of 89 and 46 against Australia and was certainly India’s best player in the WTC Final against Australia. It was because of his knock that India avoided a follow-on.
As India enters a new WTC cycle next month with the tour of West Indies, there are calls to drop the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav to begin the transition phase in the Test side. But, Rahane, aged 35, could have a second wind in his career in this new found confidence, Wasim Jaffer believes.
“You cannot buy experience and we saw that. It was the only opportunity for him. If he had not performed, he might have been dropped, but I think that now he will continue to play for India. He can still offer a lot to Indian cricket. He is fit and in good form. It’s good to see Ajinkya Rahane back in form, scoring runs,” Wasim Jaffer told Sportskeeda.
“In such a big game, you needed an experienced player and we got to see that in the WTC final. He was the highest scorer after both innings [for Team India]. That innings of 89 was amazing. He came under pressure and stitched a partnership with Shardul Thakur. He helped India reach a respectable total.”
We didn’t see him play in such a manner in the recent past in the IPL: Wasim Jaffer
Prior to the World Test Championship Final, Rahane won his maiden IPL trophy and was a key figure for CSK in the IPL 2023. Generally a conservative starter in T20 cricket, Rahane attained unprecedented attacking mode and was really severe, especially against the pacers during the IPL. It was through his IPL performances that Rahane got his recall to the Test side.
In the IPL 2023, Rahane cracked 326 runs in 14 games at a belligerent strike rate of 172.
Jaffer added: “First of all, he played very well. There is no doubt about that. The way he was playing in IPL, he was batting very well. Obviously, it’s [Test] is a different format, but we saw a different Ajinkya Rahane because we didn’t see him play in such a manner in the recent past in the IPL. Attacking cricket, exceptional shots. I think the way he scored in the starting few matches, he was selected into Team India on that basis.”
