Having played in 85 Test matches, Ajinkya Rahane has been a mainstay in international cricket for almost 13 years. The middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane, who led India to a historic series victory Down Under in 2021, is determined to make a return even if he has fallen out of favor with the national selectors. With hopes of being the 100th Test player and winning another Ranji trophy for Mumbai
His excellent Ranji season the previous year earned him a call-up to the Indian Test team for the WTC final match against Australia. He wants to pull off the ruse again. Despite his promising showing in the final, the right-hander was dropped again after his performance in the ensuing West Indies tour proved insufficient.
Ajinkya Rahane has had a brilliant career spanning 85 Test matches, 5077 runs, and leading India to historic victories over Australia, including hundreds at Lords and the MCG. Most guys with those kinds of numbers would be content to kick back and relax at 35 years old. But the battle-scarred veteran isn’t done yet.
I’m focused on performing well for Mumbai and taking one game at a time – Ajinkya Rahane
It is now the responsibility of the upcoming batsmen to replace Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer struggled in the two Tests in South Africa. The two middle-order mainstays’ performances in challenging international environments—South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Australia—were their defining characteristics.
The Maharashtra-born cricketer departed for a golden duck in his lone innings, despite his team’s comfortable 10-wicket victory. After Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Andhra Pradesh, the 35-year-old spoke with reporters and stated (via Cricbuzz):
“My goal is to secure both the Ranji Trophy and the bigger objective of playing in 100 Test matches. I’m focused on performing well for Mumbai and taking each game one step at a time,”
It is all about being consistent throughout the period of time – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane said that the bowlers just needed a bit more intensity to explain his decision to urge Andhra Pradesh to bat again after they were bowled out for 184 in response to their 395.
“The decision was instinctive as such opportunities are very rare. If you read the situation and sniff the opportunity for seven points…it will be helpful for you in future as you don’t know how the wicket will be, the conditions will be, teams form in the upcoming matches…you never know what will happen,” he said.
“So yesterday, I felt like if the bowlers will push themselves a bit and if we take two-three early wickets then it will become easier for us. It’s been a very good start for us this season. The challenge is to be consistent because when you want to win the Ranji Trophy, it is all about being consistent throughout the period of time,” Ajinkya Rahane added.
Mumbai successfully chased down the 34-run mark without losing a wicket after Andhra Pradesh was wiped out for 244 runs in their second innings. India’s team for the first two of the five Test matches against England, which begin on January 25, does not feature Ajinkya Rahane.