Had Shreyas Iyer been fit then Ajinkya Rahane would not have got place in WTC Final squad: Irfan Pathan

Veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has made a comeback in the Indian Test team after a year as he’s been selected in the squad for the World Test Championship Final 2023. India will be up against Australia in the summit clash which will take place at The Oval starting from June 7.

Rahane has been receiving praise from the cricketing fraternity for his comeback on the back of remarkable performances in IPL 2023 and specifically Ranji Trophy 2022-23. However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the 34-year-old wouldn’t have made it to the team had Shreyas Iyer been fit. Iyer has recently gone through surgery for his recurring back injury and will be out of action for some time.

"Had Shreyas Iyer been fit then Rahane would not have got the place in the WTC Final side," said Irfan on Star Sports.

Pathan further lauded Rahane for his current form and stated that his performances on foreign pitches have always been good.

"As far as the current form is concerned, he is looking in great touch. The format in which he is playing now is completely different but Rahane's performance on foreign pitches has always been good and this has gone in his favour," Irfan added.

The Maharasthra-born batter has left everyone awestruck with his approach in the ongoing IPL 2023. Rahane has looked completely fearless as he’s taken on the bowlers right from the word go and has amassed 209 runs from five innings so far at an average of 52.25 and a mind-boggling strike rate of 199.04 with two fifties to his name.

Rahane flaunts class in IPL 2023

Before wreaking havoc in the T20 extravaganza, the former India vice-captain finished as the highest run-scorer for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 with 634 runs from 11 innings at an average of 57.63 with two centuries and one fifty to his name.

However, there are a large number of fans who’re also unhappy with the selectors for once again overlooking the other Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan who’s been averaging over 100 since the 2019 season of the Ranji Trophy. The general consensus around getting back Rahane is that the selection committee chose experience as they didn’t want to throw in Sarfaraz directly during the high-intensity WTC final.