India Squad WTC Final: Ajinkya Rahane has pipped Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari in the World Test Championship Squad (WTC) against Australia. BCCI announced a 15-member squad today Rahane’s scintillating IPL 2023 form sees him back in the Test team after almost a year. The Mumbai batter has been named as Shreyas Iyer’s replacement, who is out due to a back injury.Follow World Test Championship Final LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
🚨 NEWS 🚨#TeamIndia squad for ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final announced.
Details 🔽 #WTC23 https://t.co/sz7F5ByfiU pic.twitter.com/KIcH530rOL
— BCCI (@BCCI) April 25, 2023
India Squad WTC Final: Battle for the Middle-Order Spot
Ajinkya Rahane has been absent from India’s Test team for quite some time now. Despite this, he remains a technically skilled batsman and has experience playing in overseas conditions. Rahane played a vital role in India’s historic series win against Australia in 2020-21, where he scored a match-winning century. Many thought that his career was over after being out of the team for a while.
However, Rahane had other plans. He was selected by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2023 season and has been playing some match-winning innings for the team, showcasing his potential and ability to perform well. This has caught the attention of selectors, who considered him for the upcoming WTC Final.
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav is a relatively new addition to the Indian Test team. He made his Test debut earlier this year in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Unfortunately, Yadav failed to produce a noteworthy performance during the series. Nevertheless, Yadav is a versatile middle-order batsman who possesses the ability to play big shots. He has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and over the years, he has excelled in T20 cricket, earning the nickname ‘India’s Mr. 360’.
Hanuma Vihari out of the race
Hanuma Vihari, who played a crucial role in India’s memorable draw against Australia in the third Test of the 2020-21 series, showcased his mental strength on the pitch. In fact, he demonstrated this quality again in the Ranji Trophy, playing with one hand after getting injured. Unfortunately, Vihari’s recent injury has forced him out of action for a significant period of time.
Preview of India’s WTC Final Squad
- The majority of India’s squad for the WTC Final is expected to remain unchanged from the Test series against Australia.
- However, India has a vacant spot to fill in the lineup with the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who is injured.
- The selectors have the option to choose between Suryakumar Yadav and Ajinkya Rahane for the vacant spot.
- Captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are set to open the inning followed by Cheteshwar Pujara.
- Shubman Gill will get a slot in the middle-order alongside Virat Kohli.
- KS Bharat is expected to take on the role of the wicketkeeper.
- India’s three-pronged pace attack will comprise Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammad Shami
- Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin bowling attack.
- Additionally, selectors may call Mayank Agarwal in the squad as a backup middle-order batter.
- Axar Patel and Shardul Shakur will be backup bowling all-rounder options.
- Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan will be the backup wicketkeeper.
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