‘The only change that they could make in English conditions…’ – Michael Vaughan makes big call on India’s opening combination ahead of WTC Final
India had lost the last WTC final against New Zealand in 2021.
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Apr 26, 2023 12:45 pm
Michael Vaughan and Indian Test Team (Source: Twitter)
India announced their squad for the World Test Championship in England. Ajinkya Rahane has made a comeback to the Indian Test side on the back of good domestic and T20 form. Rahane made 734 runs in the Ranji Trophy in seven matches at an average of 57.63 and a strike rate of 62.15. The right-hander has looked good in the IPL 2023 as well. He has made 209 runs from five innings at an average of 52.25 and a strike rate of 199.05.
Rahane’s inclusion will give a much-needed boost to the Indian middle order. When it comes to India’s opening combination, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have been India’s opening combination at the top after KL Rahul failed to cement his place. Speaking on the same, Michael Vaughan has thrown up an interesting train of thought saying that Rahul should bat with Rohit instead of Gill.
Shubman Gill has deficiencies against the moving ball- Michael Vaughan
“The only change that they could make in English conditions, is that KL Rahul plays the moving ball better than Shubman Gill. Shubman’s a tremendous young player, but you’ve got to win that one game of cricket. Forget history, it’s about picking the best XI to win the World Test Championship. When it’s straight, Shubman is a dangerous player but I’ve seen a few little technical deficiencies. When the ball moves, he takes his hand little bit too much towards the ball. He snicks off quite consistently,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
“I’m not sure they will do that (replacing Shubman with KL Rahul) because I’m not in the selection room. (But) don’t pick a team on what’s next, or who’s going to play in the West Indies… you’ve got to pick (the team for) that one game of cricket,” Vaughan added. Rahul had impressed in the 2o21 Test series in England. The Karnataka batter though looked out of sorts in the series against Australia where he starred in only two Tests. After which Rahul was dropped and Gill took his place.”
The WTC final will be held at the Oval shortly after the conclusion of the IPL between 7 to 11 June. England will be hosting the WTC final for the second time. India lost to New Zealand in 2021 when the two sides met in Southampton. India and Australia previously faced each other at the BGT where India won the series 2-1.
