In a century of slam-bang cricket, Ajinkya Rahane is a one-of-a-kind player who adheres to the old-school style of cricket.
Ajinkya Rahane has steadily risen through the ranks since being raised on the playing fields of Mumbai, India’s factory for producing international cricketers. The Mumbai batsman has carved out a distinct name for himself with his rock-steady technique and gentle temperament.
Due to his lightweight technique, repertoire of shots, and temperament, former Australian captain Steve Waugh has likened Rahane to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Records
Indian batsman to score hundreds in each innings of a Test match for the fifth time.
In a single Test match, a non-wicketkeeper has the most catches (8).
As a captain, he is the ninth Indian player to win a test match.
After Piyush Chawla and Murali Vijay, he is the third Indian batsman to score a century on his County Debut.
The first Indian to win the World Test Championship’s ‘Player of the Match’ award.
In the World Test Championship, he is the first Indian to score a century.
Rahane became the fourth Indian batsman to score a century in a Test match on his debut at Lord’s.
Awards
2006–07 M A Chidambaram Trophy for the best Under-19 cricketer.
In 2013, he was named in the Cricinfo CLT20 XI.
2014–15 CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year
In 2015, he was named in Cricinfo IPL XI.
Career
Domestic Career
Rahane began playing cricket at the age of seven, when his father took him to a Dombivli coaching academy. Pravin Amre was his mentor when he was 17 years old. Before being selected to play in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in Karachi, he played an U19 match for India against New Zealand.
At the age of 19, he made his first-class debut for Mumbai against Karachi Urban in September 2007. He got selected for the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India after scoring 143 in his debut match.
In the 2007-08 season, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai. He performed admirably and was chosen to represent West Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He scored over 1000 runs in the second season, helping Mumbai win the Ranji title for the 38th time. In the following season, he hit his best first-class score of 265 not out against Hyderabad. Since hitting 1000 runs in the 2010-11 season, he went on to hit 1000 runs in three straight seasons.
After being in and out of the Indian team, Rahane returned to the domestic circuit, but his form took a hit during the 2017/18 Ranji Trophy season, when Mumbai were uncharacteristically unable to progress beyond the quarter-final stages, and Rahane was handed his first Ranji Trophy duck since 2008.
IPL Career
Ajinkya Rahane began his career with the Mumbai Indians, his hometown franchise. Since he was an uncapped rookie at the time, Rahane didn’t get much chances, and it wasn’t until he moved to Rajasthan Royals that he began to display quality in the IPL.
In the IPL, he has represented Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and Rising Pune Supergiant. He moved to Rajasthan in 2012 due to a lack of opportunities in Mumbai, where he scored a match-winning 98 in the season’s first match.
His breakout year in the tournament came in 2012, when he scored over 550 runs at a healthy strike rate, including his first IPL century. In reality, between 2012 and 2016, Rahane established himself as one of the tournament’s most consistent performers.
His time with the Rising Pune Supergiants was a little bumpy, but he managed to get the team off to a decent start, and after RPS folded, Rahane was re-signed by Rajasthan Royals.
International Career
Following the retirement of legends such as VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, Indian selectors began the process of preparing young players for the major stage. After a year in and out of the squad and 16 months on the bench, Rahane was eventually given the most coveted piece of Indian cricket clothing – Test cap number 278 – thanks to an injury to Shikhar Dhawan.
Rahane made an immediate impact in England during the Investec Test Series (India tour of England, 2014). On his first presentation at the Lord’s, he hit a glorious century and climbed the honours list. After a 28-year wait, India won at Lord’s thanks to Rahane’s century.
He made his One-Day International debut in Chester-le-Street against England, scoring 40 runs at a strike rate of 90. He did well in that series, as well as the following return series, where he scored his first 50. In the following series against the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, he struggled.
Despite his importance in the Test team, Rahane has been in and out of the ODI squad. He did, however, do well enough to earn a place in the 2015 World Cup in Australia, where he excelled in the middle order, scoring 79 runs against South Africa.
He was left out of the England team for the 2019 World Cup. Despite India’s batting woes at number four and Rahane’s stellar record in England, the selectors passed him over. Many cricket pundits were outraged by his absence, and India eventually paid the price for a shaky middle-order in the Semi-finals.
In August 2011, Rahane made his international debut for India in a Twenty20 International against England at Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground. In this match, he made a half-century (61 of 49) against an England attack that included Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, and Tim Bresnan. Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid played his only T20I match in this match.
Captaincy
He was appointed the ODI and T20 captain for the 2015 Zimbabwe tour in 2015.
When Virat Kohli was injured in the fourth Test against Australia in March 2017, he captained the Indian Test team. India prevailed by eight wickets in that series, reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Family
Madhukar Baburao Rahane and Sujata Rahane raised Ajinkya Rahane in Ashwi KD, Ahmednagar district. The family originated in the Tal-Sangamner village of Chandanapuri. Shashank and Apurva Rahane, his younger brother and sister, are his siblings. (5) Madhukar Rahane took Ajinkya to a small coaching camp with a matting wicket in Dombivli when he was seven years old because they couldn’t afford better coaching. He began receiving coaching from former India batsman Pravin Amre when he was 17 years old.
Ajinkya Rahane married Radhika Dhopavkar, his childhood sweetheart, in 2014, and they have a beautiful daughter together, who was born on October 5, 2019.