Ajinkya Rahane retires from international cricket, fights back tears in emotional farewell video

Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane has bid farewell to international cricket after being out of the national team for more than three years. His last appearance for India came way back in July 2023 in the Test tour of the West Indies. This was the same series where Yashasvi Jaiswal made his international debut.

Rahane posted a video on his official Instagram handle to confirm that he is retiring from all formats of international cricket with immediate effect. The right-handed batter played 85 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20Is for the Men in Blue. He amassed 5077, 2962, and 375 runs across the three formats, respectively. The 38-year-old finished with 51 fifties and 15 centuries in international cricket.

While Rahane's best performances in international cricket came in the longest format, he was part of India's side that played the T20 World Cup in 2014, the 2015 ODI World Cup, the 2016 T20 World Cup, and the 2017 Champions Trophy. The Mumbai batter also played the first two finals of the World Test Championship in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Rahane will be fondly remembered for leading India to a Test series against Australia during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After India were down and out following the first Test in Adelaide, where they infamously got out for 36 runs in the second innings. Virat Kohli, who was the regular captain in that game, left home on paternity leave.

Rahane took responsibility of leading a young Indian team, scoring a match-winning century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the second Test. He led India six times in Test cricket. The Asian giants won four games and drew two.

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Rahane is currently the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He has led the three-time champions in the last two seasons of the IPL. However, reports suggest that the Knights are interested in trading in Hardik Pandya from the Mumbai Indians for the upcoming season. If the Baroda all-rounder comes to KKR, he could replace Rahane as captain.