India WTC Final squad: Why Ajinkya Rahane is back and there's competition among the pacers

Ajinkya Rahane made a return to India's Test squad after a 15-month gap as the selectors announced a 15-member unit for the upcoming World Test Championship (WC) 2023 final against Australia in June.Rahane last played for India in January 2022 in South Africa. In the two matches he played last year, the Mumbai batter scored just 68 runs from four innings. This, after he scored 479 runs in 13 Tests in 2021 at an average of 20.82.India squad for WTC Final: Ajinkya Rahane returns, Suryakumar Yadav droppedIt was Rahane who captained India to the famous Gabba Test win in 2021 as the visitors clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Virat Kohli's absence. But all that heroics were forgotten as runs stopped flowing from the 34-year-old's bat.Cut to April 2023, and Rahane is back in the Test squad and is highly likely to play in the WTC final at The Oval in London.In the absence of an official explanation, we try and decipher what could be the reasons behind picking Rahane over other batters.Why was Rahane picked in the India Test squad?The clear-cut answer is the absence of Shreyas Iyer. The batter underwent surgery in the UK for a lower back stress fracture and that leaves a hole in the batting order. To compensate for Iyer's absence, selectors have opted for Rahane instead of Surykumar Yadav.SKY played one Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. In Nagpur, he scored eight runs in an inning. He was later replaced by Iyer and maybe this lack of experience went against Suryakumar.Also, India are missing Rishabh Pant who is still recovering from injuries suffered during his car accident. Pant is a brilliant batter in Tests and in his absence, it was all the more important to strengthen the batting. In such a scenario, the selectors opted for experience.Rahane returns to India squad: 'The comeback Man' — fans celebrate on TwitterTo add to it, Rahane is in brilliant touch in the ongoing Indian Premier League. He's scored 209 runs in five matches at an amazing strike rate of 199.05. It's possible that his IPL's performance impacted the selectors' decision but we mustn't forget that he also scored 634 runs in seven Ranji Trophy matches this season including a double hundred against Hyderabad.Other interesting observations on the squadThere are few surprises in the squad apart from Rahane's selection. Of course, Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan have been dropped but it was expected as neither of them are regular in the Test team and it has been reported that coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma wanted more experience.Also, India have only named one specialist wicketkeeper — KS Bharat — in the 15-man squad. The reason for naming only one keeper could be the fact that the WTC final is a one-off Test match. However, don't be surprised if India play KL Rahul as a wicketkeeper in the match to bolster their batting.In the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav, who was part of the squad at home against Australia, has been overlooked. India already have three spinners in the squad — Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel — but only two might play in the WTC final. Axar could be the one to miss out.Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be the lead pacers and the fight for the third fast bowler will be between Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat. Shardul, with his batting ability, is expected to win this race.India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev UnadkatRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.