‘Bhai aur koi nahi mila kya tum logo ko’ – Fans troll Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma as they were keen to have Rahane in Test Championship final

India defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-game Border-Gavaskar Test series when the fourth match at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium finished in a draw. The team led by Rohit Sharma qualified for the World Test Championship final with this series win. After the completion of the 16th season of the Indian Premier League, the final will be played against Australia at The Oval in Southampton from June 7 to June 11.

The Indian Cricket Board unveiled a 15-player team on Tuesday, April 25, in preparation for the much anticipated WTC 2021–23 final. Former India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane rejoins the squad after a couple of excellent performances in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Star all-arounder, Shardul Thakur is also included in the team of 15.

Ajinkya Rahane has a poor record at The Oval in Southampton

It was seen that Rahane, who has participated in 82 Test matches, was highly needed by both head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma due to his abundance of experience. Interestingly, it was the same team management that had excluded Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara from the Test team in an effort to bring in younger players.

For the WTC final, however, they were forced to rely on Rahane due to frequent injuries and plans being disturbed by Rishabh Pant‘s injury. Pujara has already seen success since the last Test of the incomplete series in England in July. But Rahane’s track record in England is not promising. He has 729 runs overall and a 26.04 average in 15 Test appearances. He had poor performances at The Oval,  as he scored just 55 runs in the six innings, including three ducks.

India squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

Australia squad for WTC final: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warne

Here’s how fans reacted to Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma’s thoughts:

https://twitter.com/OGVK18/status/1651084082040934401

Han han sahi baat hai..achanak se they were keen for rahane as he performed in ipl…agar itne keen the to jab shreyas bgt m injured hua tab kyu nhi khilaya?
Sab kuch bkchodi hai ye log clueless management ban chuke hai
Rohit aur rahul ka last year hai as coach and captain

— Shubham (@playz_shubh) April 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/hitmank45/status/1651080077533167616

https://twitter.com/jadejamayur010/status/1651075914904788993

https://twitter.com/Diwakar75473504/status/1651095604997787648

https://twitter.com/harshitvyas22/status/1651103338128343040

Yahi sab chutiyeppe ke wajah se world cup haare the phir bhi nai sudhre.

— Aditya Singh (@S92522960Singh) April 26, 2023

Rahane should play at no 4 in WTC Final

— Himank (@hitmank45) April 26, 2023