He will make the most of it: Sourav Ganguly backs Ajinkya Rahane for WTC 2023 Final
Ajinkya Rahane has been in phenomenal form this season. And his consistency with the bat has earned him a place in India’s squad for the WTC 2023 final.
Former Indian Skipper and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly believes he is the perfect man for the job. Ganguly thinks that Rahane will do wonders for the Indian team in the WTC Final against Australia.
Ganguly lauds Ajinkya Rahane ahead of WTC Final
“I have always liked him. He has always been a good player for India,” Ganguly said on May 5. He further added that opportunities like these don’t come everyday and that a player of Rahane’s caliber should make the most of them.
The Indian team announced their squad for the WTC final last month. And instantly Ajinkya Rahan’s inclusion in the team caught everyone’s eye. There were a lot of people questioning the decision.
Some called it a bluff to pick the player on the basis of his IPL form. While there were others, who had followed him through the domestic circuits of Ranji Trophy. And lauded his performance and eventually the comeback.
Resurgence of Ajinkya Rahane
Now all eyes will be focused on Ajinkya Rahane who makes his comeback to the side after 15-month hiatus. He last featured in a test game in Cape Town against South Africa, which India lost.
Following his poor run of form Rahane was dropped from the team. After a lot of experimenting with the squad, Shreyas Iyer was finally found fit to play at number 4.
But his back injury ruled him out of the IPL and eventually the WTC final as well. In such scenario, the selectors decided to return to the veteran who has 82 test matches under his belt.
Rahane has scored 4931 runs in those matches at an average of 38. He has always been a reliable player in the middle order. And the selection committee will be expecting him to perform in touch English conditions.
India eying WTC 2023 Final win
Winning an international title has become an elephant in the room for Indian team. Despite the fact that IPL is at its peak, Indian have their eyes set on a potential ICC trophy in the form of WTC 2023 final which is set to take place in June in England.
It has been nerly 10 years since India last won an ICC trophy. It was under Dhoni’s leadership in 2013 that India won the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Since then, India is struggling to get their hands around any prestigious international title.
Hence, now they have their eyes set on the WTC trophy, on which they missed out last time around in 2021 when they were beaten by New Zealand in final.
India takes on Australia in the final of WTC 2023. The match will be played at Edgbaston and although the conditions will be English, fans will be expecting India to continue their domination on the Aussies.
