look news india
Whenever Indian cricket history will talk about the most reliable players who brought the team out of trouble on foreign soil, Ajinkya Rahane’s name will always be taken in the top rows. Rahane, who has a reputation like MS Dhoni for his calm captaincy and has amazing technical expertise like Rahul Dravid in facing the red ball while standing at the crease, has won many historic matches for the country. Who can forget that historic Australia tour of the year 2020-21, when in the absence of Virat Kohli, he surprised the whole world by hoisting the tricolor on the Gaba ground. However, despite such brilliant achievements and impeccable image, there came a time when his golden career suddenly got marginalized before time and this question still haunts the minds of the fans that what happened?
Ajinkya Rahane’s bat always spits fire on foreign pitches
Ajinkya Rahane was not called the ‘King of Foreign Countries’ of the Indian Test team for no reason. When the world’s great batsmen used to succumb to foreign bouncers and seaming pitches, Rahane proved his class by scoring brilliant centuries on difficult pitches like Lord’s, Melbourne and Johannesburg. His technique, composure and the art of playing short pitched balls was considered unmatched in modern Indian cricket. Very few batsmen have been able to play the number of trouble-shooting innings that he has played in foreign conditions.
How poor form and selectors’ new priorities changed the equation
There comes a period in the life of any player when his bat becomes silent, and something similar happened with Rahane too. Due to ups and downs in form for a few consecutive years and failure to play big innings, the selectors started losing confidence in him. When the new crop of youth was emerging rapidly in Indian cricket, Rahane had to look for a way out of the Test team due to continuously falling average and technical shortcomings. He tried hard to make a comeback in domestic cricket and also shone in the IPL, but the doors of the national team gradually closed completely for him.
Calm nature and distance from media also became a reason for the decline in career.
It has also been often discussed in the circles of cricket that Ajinkya Rahane’s extremely calm and introverted nature also could not work in his favor. In the era of modern commercial cricket and social media, where players are known for making their presence felt, Rahane always believed in giving answers with his bat on the field. His habit of staying away from limelight also weakened his advocacy in selections and media debates many times. Whatever may be the reason, the contribution of this great warrior of Indian Test cricket will always remain indelible.