Ajinkya Rahane selects all-time India Test XI and 2027 World Cup pacers

Former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has unveiled his all-time India Test XI, a selection restricted to players he has shared a pitch with during his career. The lineup features MS Dhoni as captain and wicketkeeper, with Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as openers. The middle order includes Rahul Dravid at number three, Sachin Tendulkar at number four, Rahane himself at number five, and Dhoni at number six. The bowling attack consists of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma.

Rahane’s selection has drawn significant social media attention due to the omission of modern-day stars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah. Regarding the batting order, the inclusion of Dravid, Tendulkar, and Rahane in the top five left no positional room for Kohli.

In a separate selection, Rahane identified his top five fast bowlers for the upcoming 2027 ODI World Cup. His preferred pace attack includes Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Mayank Yadav. Notably, he omitted veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami from this specific list.