WTC Final: Ajinkya Rahane will have a freer mind but will have his work cut out,

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about the mindset that veteran middleorder batter Ajinkya Rahane will bring to the table during the ICC World Test Championship WTC Final against Australia at The Oval on Wednesday saying the righthander will have a freer mind but will have his task cut outRahane last played a Test for India in January 2022 on a tour of South Africa and was subsequently dropped from the side post a lean run of form He returned to the domestic cricket grind starting with the Duleep Trophy in September 2022 making 250 runs in five innings including an unbeaten 207 for West ZoneHe Rahane was under tremendous pressure the last time when he was playing for India Its a tough time when a batter goes into bat thinking that this could be the last innings of his Test career That is a difficult place to be in I dont think he will be in that place now as he has seen life after Test cricket almost like a retired cricketer Manjrekar was quoted as saying by Star SportsIn the 202323 Ranji Trophy Rahane was Mumbais leading runscorer with 634 runs from seven matches including a doublecentury against Hyderabad and 191 against Assam at an average of 5763 With injuries to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer ruling them out of the WTC final it paved the way for Rahanes return to the Test teamNow he has got the opportunity I feel his mind will be a lot freer People might think his IPL form has contributed to his selection and come back But he had a good firstclass season as well So we might see some benefit there I have been there I have been dropped from the Indian team I have got loads of runs at the firstclass level but when you come back to Test cricket you realize that its a completely different ball game added ManjrekarRahane was a vital cog in the wheel for Chennai Super Kings winning IPL 2023 making 326 runs at a strikerate of 17249 including a stunning 19ball against Mumbai Indians Rahane had scored a matchwinning hundred for India at Lords back in 2014 and though his Test average in England is currently at 2603 the WTC final is an opportunity for him to make his second chance countSo Ajinkya Rahane will have a freer mind but he will have his work cut out as well Test cricket is a different ball game and he is playing against a topnotch opposition I have no idea how he is going to bat Theres some indication that hes back in form but it is a completely different scenario concluded ManjrekarThis is the second straight time India will be playing in the WTC final after they lost the title clash to New Zealand in the inaugural edition of the championship at Southampton in 2021Also Read Playing for India matters a lot for me Ajinkya Rahane ahead of WTC finalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever