Fans were not so confident when Ajinkya Rahane got selected for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He had an excellent IPL 2023 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he scored 326 runs in 14 games, at an average of 32.60 and a strike rate of 172.49. Rahane also smashed two fifties. So, after a solid domestic and IPL season, he finally made a comeback in the Test squad.
However, he did not disappoint in the final against the Aussies as he scored 89 runs in the first innings and 46 runs in the second innings. Now, on 23 June, the Indian Cricket Board announced the Test squad for the upcoming West Indies tour. India will play two Tests there and Rahane has been named as the vice-captain. Seeing that, fans shared their views on social media.
Ajinkya Rahane has 12 Test centuries to his name
Ajinkya Rahane has played 83 Tests so far. In 142 innings, he has scored 5066 runs, at an average of 38.96 and a strike rate of 49.62. He has notched up 26 fifties and 12 centuries. However, Rahane shares his appreciation to CSK management for backing him after the IPL final. He said: “Credit goes to CSK management for backing me. They said they would back me completely if I got an opportunity. The victory is really special. Great team man
During the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma also claimed that Rahane put up a great partnership with Shardul Thakur in the first innings that kept them alive in the game. He said: “I thought it was a great fightback from Rahane and Shardul after being 5 down for 150. They stood up and put up a good partnership there and kept us in the game.”
TEST Squad: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, and Navdeep Saini.
Here is how fans have reacted:
Perfect..... Ise to captain hona chaiye
— Velha (@panditrockss) June 23, 2023
What a Comeback Man!
— Anuj Vats 🇮🇳🪷✨ (@vatsanuj105) June 23, 2023
Should have sacked Rohit and made Rahane as Test captain.
— Srikanth Dhulipala (@SrikanthDhul26) June 23, 2023
Only till Iyer's comeback.
— ᐯᗩSᕼI 💙 (@VashiVelayudham) June 23, 2023
Should be actual captain but nvm what else we can expect 🥴
— Saniaa (@livesania8) June 23, 2023
His hard work has paid off 🙂
— Yathi (@No_breathe11) June 23, 2023
My captain
— Pranay 🇮🇳 (@Pun_nay) June 23, 2023
Practice makes man perfect 🧿
— Shubham_Srivastava 🇮🇳 (@4u_shubh365) June 23, 2023
Finally some good news
— Mayank Yadav (@EggSy_Val) June 23, 2023