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 dropped

It 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.