Wasim Jaffer hails Ajinkya Rahane after comeback innings against Australia in WTC final

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer heaped praise on Ajinkya Rahane after his innings in the recently ended World Test Championship final against Australia. However, India ended up losing the game by 209 runs, but Rahane turned out to be the top scorer for India and prevented a follow-on in the first innings with his 89-run knock, while he scored 46 runs in the second innings.

Wasim Jaffer believes that Rahane has a lot to offer India in the longest format and in the next WTC cycle from 2023 to 2025. Rahane got a chance to play for India in red-ball cricket after January 2022 when he was ruled of the squad due to poor form. Jaffer said that it was the only opportunity for the 35-year-old to prove himself and he did it.

“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,” Jaffer told Sportskeeda.

“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.”

‘The way he (Rahane) was playing in IPL, he was batting very well’ – Jaffer

Rahane also built important partnerships in both innings of the match. In the first innings, he added 109 runs with Shardul Thakur after a regular fall of wickets, while he put up a partnership of 86 runs with Virat Kohli in the second innings. Wasim Jaffer also hailed Rahane for his form in IPL 2023 for Chennai Super Kings and credited him for paying aggressively in the season.

“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,” the former cricketer said.