Veteran Ajinkya Rahane was named in India's World Test Championship final squad to face Australia, but Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant remain out
Rahane's IPL form earns Test championship final recall
India have recalled Ajinkya Rahane to their squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia, with the veteran batter a chance to play his first international in 16 months.
Rahane was the stand-out name in India's 15-player squad named on Tuesday for the June 7 decider against Australia at The Oval.
Not picked since January 2022, Rahane has won his way back into the squad on the back of a dominant Indian Premier League with the Chennai Super Kings.
Rahane averages 37.58 against Australia, having struck two centuries against them in Melbourne in 2014 and 2020.
Selectors have also backed in wicketkeeper KS Bharat, after he averaged 20.20 in India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy win over Australia and came under fire from critics.
Image Id: E4FA688EA35248AB855248F085415E15 Image Caption: Ajinka Rahane averages 52.25 with a strike rate of 199.05 in this year's IPL // BCCI/SportzpicsIndia indicated earlier this month quick Jasprit Bumrah would still be out after undergoing surgery on his back, as he aims to come back in the home one-day World Cup in October.
Shreyas Iyer is also sidelined by a back injury, while Rishabh Pant is yet to return following his serious car accident last December. Suryakumar Yadav has been dropped from the India squad that won the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Australia named a 17-man squad for the Test Championship and first two Ashes Tests last week, with the group to be cut down to 15 next month for the game against India.
Chief selector George Bailey has indicated Australia will stick with their tried-and-tested line up for the match, guaranteeing David Warner will open the batting.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
2023 Qantas Tour of the UK
World Test Championship Final: Wednesday June 7-Sunday June 11, The Oval
First Test: Friday June 16-Tuesday June 20, Edgbaston
Second Test: Wednesday June 28-Sunday July 2, Lord’s
Third Test: Thursday July 6-Monday July 10, Headingley
Fourth Test: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford
Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval