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Ravi Shastri gives bombastic take on BCCI selectors recalling Ajinkya Rahane for WTC final
Amid the criticism, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has made a bombastic remark on Rahane's selection.
Ajinkya Rahane's return to the Indian Test team for the World Test Championship (WTC) final has created quite a stir on social media. Rahane last played for India in January 2022, in the Test tour of South Africa, following which he was axed from the side and a month back was removed from BCCI's central contract. And hence, fans on Twitter and a few veteran cricketers have blasted the BCCI selection committee for picking Rahane based on his thunderous IPL form. Amid the criticism, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has made a bombastic remark on Rahane's selection.
It was the Cape Town Test match in January 2022 that Rahane last appearance for India. After being dropped from the homes fixture that followed, Rahane spent his entire last year in wilderness. He shifted his focus on domestic cricket and featured in the Mumbai team during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy tournament and the Ranji Trophy tournament as well where he had scored 634 runs at 57.63 in 11 innings comprising two centuries.
ALSO READ: 'Happy for Rahane but...': Ex-India batter's 'select kyu kiya' tweet questions BCCI's WTC final squad
However, with his inclusion in the Test squad for the WTC final coming at a time when he has been in an unthinkable form in the IPL, scoring sixes and boundaries at will with its most recent display being the 29-ball 71 against KKR for Chennai Super Kings, fans on social media have been left enraged. They have been question the basis of Rahane's selection.
Amid the rising criticism, Shastri gave his verdict on Rahane's return and the team selection for the WTC final against Australia at The Oval.
“Best Indian team selected. Well done selectors and team management #WTCFinal2023 #TeamIndia,” he tweeted along with a photo of the Indian Test team which includes Rahane.
Rahane's return means India had to drop Suryakumar Yadav from the line-up, who had walked in as a reserve batter during the Border-Gavaskar Test series at home and had failed to impress in the only opportunity he had managed in place of an injured Shreyas Iyer. The latter, on the other hand, will be missing from the WTC final owing to his shoulder surgery.
The final between India and Australia will be played at The Oval from June 7-11.
