Ajinkya Rahane: The Unsung Hero Of India’s Fab-4.2

Ajinkya Rahane was part and parcel of the Fab-4.2 which took over the mantle of India’s Test cricket batting from the 2010 decade and after the exit of Fab-4.1 in Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. And so, one has to say Indian cricket has been beautifully blessed with the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahane and Rohit Sharma taking the centre stage for over a decade of time. In the Fab-4.1 edition, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were the terrific twosome who scored 15921 and 13265 runs in 363 Test matches together; in the following version, none has a 10000+ accumulation. Seven were middle order champions (with the exception of Rohit, 66 innings as an opener and 50 in the middle order) by their own right. Missing the Fab-4 rank are the spectacular Virendra Sehwag and the stoical Gautam Gambhir. Rahane with 5077 runs embellished with 12 x 100s deserves a place in the Fab-4.2 version, scoring 3-figure knocks at Wellington, Lord’s, Melbourne (twice), North Sound (Antigua), Kingston and Colombo (twice). The cool as a cucumber Rahane was capped 85 times (winning 44), but not once did he play at his home ground at the Wankhede. After playing the 85th Test in Roseau against the West Indies, Rahane dragged on for three years before calling it “Quits”. He was keen and eager to show his gifts at the Wankhede and to achieve the 100-Test mark; both eluded him. He ought to be disappointed. He captained India in six Tests and did not go down once, and that will be a feather in his cap! A typical Mumbai cricketer, showing nerves of steel when the going became tough, Rahane earned encomiums and respect of the cricket world after winning the Test series in Australia in the 2020-21 series. Rahane was an important chapter in India’s Test cricket.