Ajinkya Rahane announced his retirement from all forms of cricket last week, and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar gave him a heartfelt farewell. Rahane frequently avoided attention and carried on with his life without making much of an impression.
Regarding Rahane, Gavaskar claimed that the right-handed batter consistently went unnoticed and was never given the recognition he merited as captain. Rahane was also compared to Rahul Dravid when it comes to leadership accolades.
“His record as a skipper is exceptional, with four wins out of six and no losses. Like Rahul Dravid, who also had some terrific wins under his captaincy but never got the credit he deserved, Rahane’s leadership hardly got the applause that it merited.
This is typical of Indian cricket. When the team wins, all praise goes to the individual achievers, be it batters and bowlers, but when the team loses, the captain and the coach get the blame,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
Rahane’s biggest achievement was when he took over as India captain from Virat Kohli after one Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 and led them to a series win against all odds. India lost the first Test in Adelaide after being bowled out for 36.
Rahane then helped India win the Melbourne Test, hitting a century. India then drew the third Test in Sydney, and then Rishabh Pant’s heroics with the bat and Mohammed Siraj’s efforts with the ball gave India a win in the Brisbane Test, pocketing the series 2-1.
“After the demoralizing collapse of 36 all out in the first Test of the 2021 series Down Under, it was Rahane, along with Ravi Shastri, who picked the team from the dumps. The vice-captain took over a ship that was ready to sink and not only sailed it into calmer waters but also gave India an unprecedented first win at Australia’s fortress, ‘The Gabba,' and with it the series victory too.
In fact, in the final Test of the series, when most of the top players were unavailable due to injury, India pulled off one of its greatest victories in Test cricket. It proved once again, if ever it was needed, that nobody is indispensable in this game,” Gavaskar added.
Additionally, Gavaskar believes that Rahane will be able to walk away with his head held high. He claims that the right-hander has never made an enemy during his playing career, something that very few athletes can claim.
“Rahane leaves the game with his head held high and the sincere thanks of cricket lovers for the totally selfless way he played the game. It’s not many cricketers about whom it can be said that they did not have a single enemy in the game. There are perhaps less than a dozen to the best of my knowledge and experience. Ajinkya Rahane can take his place there with his typical humility,” Gavaskar concluded.
Rahane made his Test debut against Australia in Delhi in 2013 and went on to play 85 games, accumulating 5077 runs at an average of 38.46, with a top score of 188, 12 centuries, and 26 fifties. He also played 90 ODIs, scoring 2962 runs, including three centuries and a top score of 111. He scored 375 runs in 20 T20Is as well.
He also captained India in six Tests, winning four and drawing two, including the 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in Australia.
