Ajinkya Rahane, the no.5 test batsman of India and the winning skipper of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy turns 33 today.
"As a professional cricketer we are used to prepare for any format. For me switching between formats is a mental thing. I always think technique is only that important and mental preparations are more important." says India's former Test vice captain Ajinkya Rahane who led India to a spectacular series win in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy when the times were tough and were against India. With India crashing down for 36 in Adelaide and Virat Kohli leaving after that, hardly anybody had given them a chance to go on a clinch the trophy. On the other hand, India's acting captain for the tour, Rahane, had different ideas and what unfolded thereafter will now be talked about for many generations to come.
Ajinkya Rahane, a proper Mumbai boy was born to a middle-class family and used to reside in Dombivli. Recognizing his talent at a very young age, his parents decided that they'd support their child with his cricketing ambitions and Ajinkya never looked back. The boy followed and worked towards his craft as if it was a religion. Ajinkya Rahane initiated his cricketing journey by playing on matted wickets due to lack of resources in Dombivli. Rahane very soon capitalized on his talent and made his way through junior cricket to the ranks of the Ranji Trophy setup. Pravin Amre, former India bowler spotted the boy and left no stone unturned in sharpening his skill and getting him ready for the challenges of the Indian domestic circuit.
Rahane had his eyes firmly set on the Indian cap and kept breaking domestic records for fun. In this process, he kept on hitting centuries after centuries for his domestic side. With a star-studded Indian batting lineup in the pink of their health, Rahane had no option but to wait for his turn to play on the international stage. The Mumbai boy grabbed headlines as soon as he scored consecutive centuries in the emerging player's tournament being played in Australia. The knocks that he played suddenly put him in contention for the India cap.
As fate has it, the Indian team was caught in turmoil as they were hammered 0-4 in Tests by England. With star players completely out of form and injury issues lingering over the team, it was only a matter of time before Ajinkya made his test debut. The Indian selectors had made up their minds and gave Rahane his first call to be a part of the Indian T20 team. Proving the selectors right, Ajinkya scored 61 on his T20I debut and 40 on his ODI debut. Cricket pundits were in awe of the Mumbai boy and everybody lauded him for how flawless and compact his technique was. The Indian test setup was still crowded with batting legends who soon announced their retirement from the sport and this was Ajinkya's chance.
An injury to Shikhar Dhawan finally meant that Rahane was all set to be India's Test cap number 278. As compared to his Test & ODI debut, Rahane started very poorly in Test matches but things changed when India was touring South Africa in 2013. On the Boxing Day test match, despite the top order collapsing, Rahane solidified the Indian inning by scoring an unbeaten 51 against the likes of fiery Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Vernon Philander. Rahane's technique was something to watch out for as nobody could penetrate through his solid defense. Ajinkya kept on the momentum going as he scored a ton against England on a seaming track at Lord's back in 2013/14. He later concluded that year with a solid 147 on a bouncy MCG wicket. By 2016, Ajinkya had scored a ton in every Test-playing nation except Bangladesh & South Africa.
Rahane, a test specialist for India was handed over the captaincy of the Indian team in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar trophy after Virat Kohli left and the rest is history.
