Rahane has last played an ODI for India in 2018, against South Africa in Centurion. Since then, the batter has never donned the Blue shirt of India and has mostly been on the fringes of the Test squad, as his last Test appearance came against South Africa in January last year.
But his fantastic start in the IPL 2023 has created new hopes. Rahane played a blistering knock of 61 runs in just 27 balls against Mumbai Indians and looked a class apart. The Indian batter also had a superb domestic season, where he scored more than 600 runs this season.
And the veteran, who has also led India in the past, can be back in the team for the upcoming WTC Final. According to PTI, Rahane is being considered especially after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out with a back injury.
Iyer’s injury means there is a vacancy in the middle order of the Indian lineup and the 34-year-old can be the perfect candidate to fill in. With Suryakumar Yadav’s disappointing IPL 2023 so far, Rahane can be India’s no. 6 when they meet Australia at the Oval on June 7.
With KS Bharat’s batting technique not suitable in seaming and swinging conditions of UK, KL Rahul can be in custodian duties while Rahane can be slotted in the middle order for Rohit Sharma’s team.
Rahane has played 82 Tests for India and has amassed 4931 runs at an average of 38.5. But Rahane’s form in England is not that encouraging. The batter has scored 729 runs in 29 innings, at a paltry average of 26.
