'Ajinkya Rahane Has Got his Mojo Back, He is in...': Dinesh Karthik Hails CSK Batter Ahead of WTC Final

Veteran India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik heaped praise on Test specialist Ajinkya Rahane after he made his comeback to the Indian team for the World Test Championship final squad. After losing his place in the Test squad last year, Rahane performed consistently well in the domestic circuit, he scored 50 runs in five innings, including an unbeaten 207 for West Zone. Meanwhile, in the Ranji Trophy, Rahane was Mumbai’s leading run-scorer with 634 runs from seven matches, including a double-century against Hyderabad, and 191 against Assam.

The veteran batter continued his form in the IPL 2023 for Chennai Super Kings and played a couple of crucial knocks to help them reach the qualifier. He has scored 299 runs in 10 innings at an impressive strike rate of 169.89 thus far in IPL 2023. Rahane is expected to start in the Playing XI of CSK in the final of the cash-rich league on Monday.

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Karthik lauded Rahane and suggested that he has regained confidence as the next few months will be crucial for him regarding his Test future.

“I think he has got his mojo back. He is in good rhythm, he is in good confidence, he is always known to do well outside India. It is going to be a very important six to eight months for his career in Test cricket,” Karthik told ICC.

While the RCB wicketkeeper batter talked about Rahane’s performance in the IPL 2023 and said he looks in a good mind space.

“He has done so well for CSK when he came back. The way that he has batted, the intent that he has showed, he has shown that he is in a good mind space and that is something that is very important for the batter,” he added.

Talking about India’s bowling attack, Karthik suggested that Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be key in the absence of Jasprit Bmurah,

“Jasprit Bumrah is a huge miss for any team and in any format as he’s a force to reckon with… but a couple of key bowlers are in great form in Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami who have bowled really well throughout the IPL,” Karthik noted.