"We thought Rahane should do something similar" - Aakash Chopra reflects on Cheteshwar Pujara's road back to Test team

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said that most people thought Ajinkya Rahane should take Cheteshwar Pujara's route of playing county cricket to return to the Test side. Chopra also reasoned why the selectors chose Rahane in the India squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Rahane's return to the squad has been the biggest talking point and he is in line to play his first Test since January 2022. The 34-year-old shot into contention following his sensational IPL 2023 performances.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the 45-year-old observed how Pujara turned his form around through his performances for Sussex and reckoned how Rahane should've gone to England instead of playing in the IPL.

"No doubt that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. Shreyas Iyer would have been at five if not for his injury; hence, Ajinkya Rahane has returned. We felt Rahane shouldn't play IPL and feature in county cricket to make a comeback like Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara was dropped before that one-off Test against England. But he did well in county cricket and returned to the side. So, now he has rewound the clock. We thought Rahane should do something similar."

Reflecting on Rahane's average of 57.63 in the latest Ranji Trophy season, Chopra felt it was a middling season and that he could've done better.

"Rahane had a decent first-class season. Many people say it was outstanding, but if we deep-dive, Ranji Trophy's standards have dipped slightly. We don't like to say and believe it, but it has a bit. There are several teams, so some matches are okayish. So, if we see Rahane's numbers, his average is good, he played well against Hyderabad and 1-2 other teams. He didn't have a rocking season. He is doing well in IPL 2023, but it would be wrong to select players based on those performances."

The 10-Test veteran went on to reason that the selection was more down to a lack of viable choices.

"The factors behind his inclusion are experience as Sarfaraz Khan hasn't debuted, while they have no confidence in Suryakumar Yadav, who has played only one Test. So, let's go with Rahane. Secondly, Rahane's overseas numbers are not poor, so why not him again."

Suryakumar perished for a single-figure score in the first Test against Australia in February and sat out the remaining three.

"He could be dropped for the WTC final" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul

KL Rahul. (Image Credits: Getty)

Regarding the debate between KS Bharat and KL Rahul, Chopra strongly advocated for the former's inclusion. He feels KL Rahul's recent form further weakens his case. Chopra added:

"I feel teams should play a specialist keeper in Test cricket instead of part time. I don't know what the management will decide as KL Rahul did well in the last England tour. He played like a proper opener and scored a hundred at Lord's. However, his recent Test form is not encouraging. So, he could be dropped for the WTC final."

Rahul played the first two Tests against Australia before being dropped for Gill for the second half of the series.