Ajinkya Rahane, the middle-order batsman for the Indian squad, has not been having much good. He had to be removed from the Indian Cricket Team because he was unable to contribute runs at the international level, but things now appear to be improving for Rahane.
In fact, on Wednesday against Hyderabad, this seasoned batsman exploded in the Ranji Trophy by scoring a double century (December 21). In 261 balls, Ajinkya Rahane scored 204.
In the Ranji Trophy, Ajinkya Rahane is leading the Mumbai Indians, and he also had captaincy innings here. Ajinkya put his terrible phase behind him and scored 204 runs in 261 balls with a strike rate of 78.16 to reopen the door to the Indian squad. Rahane scored 26 fours and three sixes in his inning while pelting the ball with fours and sixes. Rahane used huge shots to score 122 runs in all.
In January of this year, Ajinkya Rahane played his final Test match against South Africa. After scoring 4 runs in the first inning and 1 run in the second, he was dropped since he was unable to deliver anything exceptional during this match. Rahane was removed from the team after India had to lose this match by 7 wickets, but by striking a double century, Rahane has once more sparked optimism for a comeback.
KKR dropped Rahane ahead IPL 2023 auction
Significantly, the IPL franchise KKR dropped Rahane prior to the IPL 2023 mini-auction. He was purchased by Kolkata for one crore rupees a year ago, but throughout that time he was only able to hit 133 runs in 7 matches in the competition. Rahane has maintained his base pricing of merely Rs. 50 lakh for this year.
Can Rahane return to the India Test Team?
With players like Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and Cheteshwar Pujara picking up their game, the prospects currently appear slim. Additionally, people like Sarfaraz Khan are knocking on doors in case a position becomes available. Rahane, however, may get another chance if he keeps scoring at the domestic level due to injuries to important players. Pujara was able to maintain his position in that manner after scoring big runs in the English county.
