Top 10 funny memes as BCCI announce Team India squad for 2023 WTC final against Australia
On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) formally announced the 15-men Team India squad for the upcoming 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final. India will lock horns with Australia in the pinnacle clash, which commences on June 7 at The Oval in London.
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant expectedly missed out. To fill the void created by the duo's absence in the middle order, the selectors recalled Ajinkya Rahane to the squad after almost a year. Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, has been dropped after playing just one Test against Australia in February.
Jasprit Bumrah remains on the sidelines in the bowling department; Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack against Australia. Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and Jaydev Unadkat have also earned spots in the squad.
Indian squad for WTC final against Australia: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
Fans took note of the WTC final squad on Tuesday and expressed their reactions by sharing hilarious memes on social media platforms.
Here are some of the best memes:
Pant Gets selected for 2 continuous T20 World Cup based on Test form.
Vs
Rahane gets selected for WTC based on IPL form https://t.co/hDeLGJL9NZ
Team India condition after king Rahane's entry https://t.co/ljKKfSlKqY
@BCCI AJINKYA RAHANE 🔥 https://t.co/tsy3lQ5Q08
Ajinkya Rahane coming back in Indian team after being dropped for 1 year and getting removed from BCCI annual contract list
#AjinkyaRahane https://t.co/QIONHWdMLd
Ajinkya Rahane earned his call-back to the Indian Test team by performing well in domestic cricket
Ajinkya Rahane has performed decently in domestic cricket this season. The former Indian Test vice-captain has scored 634 runs across seven games at an average of 57.63, with two centuries.
Rahane has carried his form into the IPL, reinventing himself to become an enforcer in CSK's batting line-up. Batting at number 3 for the MS Dhoni-led side, he has scored 209 runs in 5 innings so far at an astonishing strike rate of 199.05. That is the highest strike rate by any batter to have scored more than 100 runs this season.
Speaking at a post-match presentation after CSK's win against KKR, Rahane opened up about his batting form.
"Just a clear mindset and nothing else," he said. "If that's right, you can do anything and so just wanted to keep my mind clear. The prep before the season was very good. Ball was stopping and the pitch was a little sticky, but the outfield was fast and one side was small. Ruturaj batted very well and I just wanted to be positive."
Do you think this squad has the potential to emerge victorious in the 2023 WTC final against Australia? Sound off in the comments section.