'Pehli baar dimaag se socha hai inhone' - Fans react to Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid always being keen on taking Ajinkya Rahane for Test Championship final

Ajinkya Rahane has been recalled back to the Indian Test set-up after being dropped from the side following the South Africa Tour

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Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane (Source : Twitter)

Ajinkya Rahane, who is currently experiencing an unusual run of success in the Indian Premier League, was unceremoniously removed from the Indian team following the team's tour of South Africa more than 15 months ago. He has now earned his comeback and will play against Australia in the Test Championship final on June 7 at The Oval. 

On Monday, the four national team selectors met with skipper Rohit Sharma for a last round of deliberations under the direction of caretaker chairman Shiv Sundar Das. Kuldeep and Suryakumar Yadav were cut from the team that last competed against Australia in March 2023. Rahane was recently dropped off the Indian Cricket Board's central contract list for the upcoming season, indicating that they no longer included him in their long-term plans.

Who were the other options apart from Ajinkya Rahane?

As per reports, despite his recent success in the IPL, the team management as well as selectors had been considering his name because of his experience and the dearth of middle-order options. Once it was apparent that Shreyas Iyer, who is now in the UK for back surgery, wouldn't be available, discussions started shortly after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Examining the Rahane option was also influenced by KL Rahul's questionable performance against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Additionally, the selectors were reluctant to use an unfamiliar individual in the WTC final. Suryakumar did not do well in the single Test contest versus Australia and lacked sufficient English playing expertise. Rajat Patidar, who was also considered, is out due to a heel ailment. It was discovered that Rahane, who has participated in 82 Test matches, was highly desired by head coach Rahul Dravid along with Rohit due to his abundance of expertise. Ironically, this was exactly the same team management that had excluded Rahane as well as Cheteshwar Pujara from the Test team in an effort to bring in younger players.

Fans react to Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid always being keen on taking Ajinkya Rahane for Test Championship final: -

Cricket News rohit sharma Indian Premier League Indian Premier League 2023 Rishabh Pant KL rahul rahul dravid Shreyas Iyer Cheteshwar Pujara Chennai Super Kings Ajinkya Rahane Rajat Patidar