India squad for WTC final: Rahane makes return, KL Rahul finds place

Rahane was dropped from the team after India’s 2-1 series defeat in South Africa in January last year

India batter Ajinkya Rahane. | Photo Credit: PATRICK HAMILTON

Ajinkya Rahane made a surprise return to the Indian Test squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June on the back of his strong performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Rahane was dropped from the team after India’s 2-1 series defeat in South Africa in January last year but the 34-year-old was back in reckoning after the injury to middle order batter Shreyas Iyer.

Rahane has impressed for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL by scoring 209 runs in five matches.

The Mumbai batter scored 634 runs in 11 innings at an average of 57.63 in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy season. He struck two hundreds including a top score of 204.

Opener KL Rahul, who was dropped for the last two Tests in the recently concluded 2-1 home win over Australia, retains his place in the 15-man squad.

The final will be played on June 7 at the Oval in London.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill. KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, KS Bharat, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat