Former Australia skipper and player, Ricky Ponting has recently praised India’s Ajinkya Rahane after the latter’s 89 in the first innings of the WTC.
Furthermore, Rahane was also in a massive 109-run partnership with Shardul Thakur for the seventh wicket.
Additionally, Ponting has stated that Rahane has once again revived his chances of making a successful comeback.
He has made the most of his opportunity and that is all you can do. I think there are two more Test matches in the West Indies after this before Rahul and Iyer are back, so he has got a real opportunity to prolong his Test career for another couple of years.
Meanwhile, Rahane’s call-up for the Test team came on the back of Ranji Trophy and IPL performances.
His last Test match was in January this year against South Africa where he failed to get many runs. After a series of low scores, the selectors dropped him from the team.
Additionally, in this year’s IPL, Rahane scored his runs at an excellent strike rate of 172.48.
Moreover, Ponting has also commented on how Rahane was able to get his place based on his IPL performances.
I am really happy to see him back out there and playing and when you see him play like that (against Australia) you just wonder why he hasn’t been in this India team for the last couple of years. Isn’t it amazing now in this modern game. He probably got back into this Indian Test team on the back of some performances in the IPL, so well played him.
Rahane was selected ahead of injured Shreyas Iyer
As Shreyas Iyer was injured, the selectors decided to induct Rahane in his place for the WTC final.
Meanwhile, Iyer has undergone surgery for his recurring back problem and is currently in rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.
With the end of the WTC on a sour note for India, they will now be playing against the Windies in a two-Test series starting next month.
Before KL Rahul and Iyer return after their rehab, Rahane has a chance to keep the faith of the selectors.
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