India have recalled former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane ahead of their World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval.
Rahane has not played for India’s Test side since January last year, but has averaged more than 50 runs at a strike-rate of almost 200 so far at this year’s IPL.
That form has been enough to pique selectors’ interest, with the middle order still missing the injured Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Prior to being dropped, Rahane had played 82 Tests and made 12 centuries, memorably captaining a depleted India to a historic series win in Australia in early 2021 after then skipper Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his child.
India have included only six specialist batters in their 15-man squad, though the presence of three spinning all-rounders in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel leaves them plenty of flexibility.
Seamer Jasprit Bumrah remains sidelined having undergone back surgery last month. Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow is on Tuesday set to make his long-awaited return to action for Yorkshire’s Second XI.
Bairstow has not played since suffering a broken leg in a freak golf course accident towards the back end of last summer but is pushing to return to the England side ahead of The Ashes. The 33-year-old will keep wicket for part of the game against Nottinghamshire.
India squad for WTC final:Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
