(Cricket news) Ajinkya Rahane, a veteran Indian batsman, returned to the country after an outstanding performance in the Ranji Trophy, and he then led Chennai Super Kings to victory in the TATA IPL.

Sunil Gavaskar, a former cricketer for India, applauded Rahane’s inclusion in the Test squad as a substitute for Shreyas Iyer and asserted that the Mumbai native had been rewarded for a strong performance on the local circuit.

Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, “That was the only change needed for the Indian side. They needed a replacement for Shreyas Iyer. Ajinkya Rahane finds himself in the WTC squad not because of his current IPL form, mind you, he was in a pretty decent form in the Ranji Trophy. He did very well for Mumbai in the domestic season. The question now is in the final eleven, who’s going to be playing? Whether it will be KS Bharat the wicket-keeper or KL Rahul. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Sunil Gavaskar remarked as he selected his Playing 11 for the WTC Final, “Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be my opening picks, Cheteshwar Pujara at three, Virat Kohli at four, Ajinkya Rahane at five, KL Rahul at six who’ll keep the wickets as well. Then there will be Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, followed by Jaidev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami and Mohd Siraj.”

Irfan Pathan, a former cricketer for India, too believed Rahane’s earlier success playing in foreign settings would be advantageous.

Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports’ Cricket Live,  “Had Shreyas Iyer been fit then Rahane would not have got the place in the WTC Final side. But as far as the current form is concerned, he is looking in great touch. The format in which he is playing now is completely different but Rahane’s performance on foreign pitches has always been good and this has gone in his favour.”

However, according to former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Suryakumar Yadav should have been included in the squad as well as Rahane since SKY can speed his knock.

Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, “I would have kept both Surya and Rahane in the team. I would have played Surya instead of Axar because you are not going to play with three spinners in English conditions. In such a situation, having Surya in the team would have given an additional advantage to the batting line-up.”

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