‘I do believe he has a point to prove because…’: Sunil Gavaskar on Ajinkya Rahane in WTC Final

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavakar feels India batter Ajinkya Rahane, who returned to the Test squad after 15 months could have a huge impact at the World Test Championship against Australia at The Oval beginning June 7.

Rahane had a brilliant run in the domestic circuit earlier this year. The right-handed batter also had a phenomenal IPL 2023 stint and was a part of the winning team Chennai Super Kings.
Speaking about the same, the batting legend said that he reckons Rahane still has a lot of cricket left in him and that he has a point to prove going into the WTC final.
“He’s got a lot of experience having played in England, having scored runs in England. So, yes, I think he is going to be crucial down at number 5. And yes, I do believe he has a point to prove, I still feel he has got plenty of cricket left in him, and this is a wonderful opportunity for him,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports show Follow the Blues.
“I’m hoping he will be able to grab this opportunity with all the experience that he has and make a place for him back in the Indian team,” he added.
Gavaskar also believes that because the majority of the team’s players just finished playing T20 cricket in the IPL, Team India might come out as a little underprepared for the WTC final. Gavaskar reckons that barring Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been playing County Cricket, others would need to adjust to the longest format.
“The biggest test will be the fact that just about everybody will be coming out of a T20 format, and test cricket is a longer format. So, I think that’s going to be the big challenge,” he said.

They have only Cheteshwar Pujara who has been playing in the English County Championship, so he will be the only guy who has played the longer format in these conditions, so that’s going to be a big challenge for them,” he added.