“He can still offer a lot to Indian cricket” – Wasim Jaffer on Ajinkya Rahane’s Test comeback in WTC final

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has hailed batter Ajinkya Rahane for his solid comeback in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia.

The 45-year-old believes that the right-handed batter still has a lot to offer to Team India in the next championship cycle. The statement came after Rahane scored 89 and 46 in the first and second innings, respectively, in the clash at The Oval.

During an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Jaffer said:

“You cannot buy experience and we saw that. It was the only opportunity for him. If he had not performed, he might have been dropped, but I think that now he will continue to play for India. He can still offer a lot to Indian cricket. He is fit and in good form. It’s good to see Ajinkya Rahane back in form, scoring runs.”

He continued:

“In such a big game, you needed an experienced player and we got to see that in the WTC final. He was the highest scorer after both innings [for Team India]. That innings of 89 was amazing. He came under pressure and stitched a partnership with Shardul Thakur. He helped India reach a respectable total.”

During the match, Rahane stitched a 109-run partnership with Shardul Thakur (48) and shared an 86-run stand with Virat Kohli (49), which were the two highlights for Team India in the first and second innings, respectively.

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“Attacking cricket, exceptional shots” – Wasim Jaffer on Ajinkya Rahane’s super show for CSK in IPL 2023

Wasim Jaffer also hailed Ajinkya Rahane’s scintillating form for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023. Former India opener credited Rahane for his attacking cricket as CSK lifted their fifth IPL trophy.

He said:

“First of all, he played very well. There is no doubt about that. The way he was playing in IPL, he was batting very well. Obviously, it’s [Test] is a different format, but we saw a different Ajinkya Rahane because we didn’t see him play in such a manner in the recent past in the IPL.”

Jaffer added:

“Attacking cricket, exceptional shots. I think the way he scored in the starting few matches, he was selected into Team India on that basis.”

Ajinkya Rahane amassed 326 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 172.48, including a couple of half-centuries in IPL 2023.