Ajinkya Rahane: The quiet pillar of Team India who never chased spotlight

Batman and Robin, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson- every famous superhero has a sidekick, who may not be the cynosure of their crusade but always plays an integral part in its success. For a decade, Indian cricket also had a ‘silent contributor’, who did his job admirably away from the limelight and would even happily take a bullet for the team.

5077 runs from 85 Test matches at an average of 38.46 with 12 hundreds and 26 fifties. That’s the thing with numbers; they don’t always paint the full picture. From the outset, these statistics look like those of an ordinary batter, but once they’re linked to a certain Ajinkya Rahane, the story becomes more than that of mere numbers.

Indian cricket has always been blessed with great batters who would put even the best in the world to shame through their talent. Hailing from the land of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli, one has to be extraordinary to be a part of this elite list.

However, if someone with a below-40 average gets recognition that’s remotely close to the adulation of the aforementioned luminaries, he’s bound to be special. The story of Ajinkya Rahane is full of moments that catapulted him to stardom but is also filled with setbacks that even led to his ouster from the team.

Early signs of potential

Together with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahane was touted as the future of Indian batting, following the retirements of Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar.

Just two Tests into his career, Rahane showed the character that went on to define his batting in the years to follow, scoring an unbeaten 51, followed by a lion-hearted 96 against the mighty South Africa in Durban, 2013.

While he had scored his maiden century against New Zealand in February 2014, his second Test hundred the same year at Lord’s etched his name forever in the history books as India ended a 28-year wait for a victory at the home of cricket.

Middle order specialist arrives

Six months later, he scored a marauding 147 (171) against a ferocious Mitchell Johnson during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, pulling his short balls towards the fence with utter disdain. Rahane further reinforced his status as a complete batter with a sublime 126 during the second innings against Sri Lanka in Colombo, 2015, allowing India to draw level after a shock defeat in the series opener.

On a treacherous surface in Delhi, Rahane again proved his credentials facing spin, entering an elite list of players to score hundreds in each innings of a Test match. He was the lone centurion of the entire four-match series that featured the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Pujara among others.

The golden period saw his Test average climb to 48 as Rahane entered the upper echelons of Indian cricket before a prolonged lean patch made it plummet to 42 by December 2020.

However, life is full of surprises, and Rahane chose the best time to have his moment in the sun in the aftermath of India’s most humiliating defeat ever in Adelaide, 2020.

The Melbourne miracle

With a match-winning century in the following Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rahane’s tenacity became the talk of the town as he helped India recover from the embarrassment of 36 all-out, inspiring them to a historic series win.

It was everything one could hope for: being the poster boy of the team’s remarkable turnaround in the absence of the regular captain Virat Kohli.

However, Rahane chose not to bask in the limelight and stepped aside to give equal appreciation to all teammates. It’s his character both on and off the field that made him stand out from the rest.

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Always a team man

After guiding India to their second greatest Test series victory, he was happy for youngsters to hog the limelight, being the silent guardian and watchful protector of the team in the absence of its most ferocious leader.

And that pretty much sums up Rahane’s life on the cricket pitch; he played under the shadows of some of the greatest players of his generation, silently doing his job over and over again.

His last heroic day in the India jersey was another rescue act in the World Test Championship 2023 final, where a gutsy 89 helped India avoid the follow-on. It was as if Rahane had envisioned the team collapse much before and stormed his way back into the team, only to help them recover from it.

A career that never craved attention

As the cap number 278 signs off from the pitch, India lose a perfect amalgamation of a team man, a leader and a fighter, who would choose to walk on burning coals rather than surrender in hostile conditions.

Rahane may not have got the limelight he deserved, but he never let that come in the way of his commitment towards the team. He walks away without a farewell, fading into the oblivion of his own making. 

While others would turn around to soak in the applause, Rahane would simply keep walking, knowing full well that he had done his job with complete dedication. And for him, it’s all that mattered.