Sunil Gavaskar feels experienced batsman Ajinkya Rahane will have a significant effect for Team India in the World Test Championship final against Australia, which begins on 7 June at The Oval.
Rahane produced some strong Ranji Trophy outings for Mumbai and was also in outstanding form for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2023 IPL season. Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul are out due to injuries. He might be the favourite for the No 5 spot in the WTC final.
Sunil Gavaskar had this to say about him:
“He’s got a lot of experience having played in England, having scored runs in England. So, yes, I think he is going to be crucial down at number 5. He has a point to prove. I still feel he has got plenty of cricket left in him. This is a wonderful opportunity for him. I’m hoping he will be able to grab this opportunity with all the experience that he has and make a place for him back in the Indian team.”
Sunil Gavaskar on how rahane and other need to adopt to test format
Sunil Gavaskar believes that Team India would appear undercooked in the WTC final since the most of the players are adapted to T20 cricket because of IPL. He believes that others would have to adjust to the longer format, except Cheteshwar Pujara as he has been playing County Cricket,
“The biggest test will be the fact that just about everybody will be coming out of a T20 format, and test cricket is a longer format. So, I think that’s going to be the big challenge. They have only Cheteshwar Pujara who has been playing in the English County Championship, so he will be the only guy who has played the longer format in these conditions, so that’s going to be the big challenge for them.”
The preparations for the WTC final have begun for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and others. Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane are set to join the team shortly.