3 reasons why India must move on from Ajinkya Rahane despite his good showing in WTC Final

While it was a tough outing for India in the final of the World Test Championship, there were a few positives, one of which was the performance of senior pro Ajinkya Rahane. The 35-year-old returned to the Test side after a while and proved his critics wrong as he scored a sensational 89 in the first innings. His innings came at a time when India desperately needed someone to step up as they were reeling at 50-3.

Then again, in the second innings, he compiled a score of 46 and was easily the best Indian batter over the course of the game. Many pundits and fans believe that this is the beginning of a second wind for the experienced campaigner.

However, there are others who believe that Rahane, despite his performance in the big final, should not be considered in the future. Here, we look at three reasons to validate this:

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#1 His return will not be fair to others

In his absence, Shreyas Iyer cemented his place in the middle order. However, an unfortunate string of injuries meant that he missed the WTC Final. The selectors then decided to bring back Rahane in the name of experience.

If Rahane is persisted with, Iyer will most certainly lose his spot in the side, which will be unfair considering his performances in recent times. This will send the wrong message to the others, who will become insecure about their own positions in the side.

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#2 Ajinkya Rahane's inconsistency

Ajinkya Rahane has played some special innings for India, but those performances have been followed by a string of low scores. This has been one of the reasons why India have been poor right off the bat, not only overseas but in India as well.

He has an average of just 38.97, which is quite poor considering his stature and talent. He has played 83 Tests for India but has failed to live up to the expectations that people initially had of him.

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#3 His age

While age is never an accurate representation of a player's caliber, it is also true that the older they get, their reflexes tend to slow down. Ajinkya Rahane is on the wrong side of 30, and so it might not be a wise decision to persist with him.

Moreover, India's next Test assignment marks the beginning of the new cycle for them, so India should look beyond Rahane and maybe a couple of more players.