The Curious Case Of Ajinkya Rahane

Serial waterboy to vice captain and now on the verge of being dropped; the Mumbai batsman’s career has come a disappointing full circle

07/09/2021

Ravin Batra

16th of November 2013. It was a typical hot, humid Mumbai afternoon. The scenes downtown at the Wankhede Stadium, however, were anything but typical. Local boy turned global superstar Sachin Tendulkar was delivering his farewell speech in front of a packed house following an otherwise routine test match victory for India over the West Indies. Over the course of his illustrious 24 year career, Tendulkar transcended cricket in India- often single handedly dealing with the famed bowling attacks of the Australians, English and Pakistanis; keeping India in the competitive conversation. 100 international centuries, 34,000 international runs and an average of close to 54 aside, his greatest achievement, arguably, is how he was able to achieve success across two whole generations of cricketers. Debuting at a time where India were at best, top of the midfield in world cricket, he left the game with his country regularly competing to win the biggest tournaments in the world. Thus, rightfully so, thousands stood on their feet, millions gathered around their television sets and the nation came to a stand still as the maestro ran through a list of thank yous in a tearful address that captured not only what his achievements had meant to the country but what the game had meant to him.

As Tendulkar concluded his speech, a bittersweet sense of celebration yet sadness ran through the stands at the Wankhede. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, the two men upon which the task of taking forward his legacy would fall upon, carried the 40 year old on their shoulders for a lap of honour. One last walk to the pitch to seek blessings and Tendulkar was on his way back to the pavilion. Sitting in that pavilion, away from all the cameras, crowds and personalities was another local boy- 12th man Ajinkya Rahane. “The hard-work which you were doing from (the) past two years I was watching very closely. It was very tough for you, I think many players would have been demotivated in this situation. But the commitment which you have showcased as a 12th man, whatever your fitness drills you used to do, you did with commitment and really hats-off. You kept on working hard for 2 years, you have been loyal to this game, this game will also be loyal to you”. These were the words of a barely 40 minute retired Tendulkar to a shell shocked Rahane- who had expected nothing but to absorb the last few minutes that the person he had looked up to, had in the dressing room. Having been running drinks the past 2 and a half days, and for several matches before that, the signal was clear- it was now his time to step up.

Ajinkya Rahane is the definition of the Mumbai school of cricket that legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar made known to the world. Travelling long hours by local train to get to matches from Dombivli, he has the typical ‘khadoos’ (vindictively strict) mindset. Playing a club game at age 10, he found himself facing a bowler more than 10 years his senior. A sharp bouncer on the first ball hit him in the helmet leading to coaches calling for him to retire hurt. A few sips of water later, however, he decided to play on- hitting the remaining 5 balls to the boundary. This never-say-die attitude, unconditional self belief and dedication to the game saw him progress rapidly through age group cricket- representing the nation at the under 19 level and earning himself a first class call up at the tender age of 19. Wowing everyone with his classical straight bat play, fast footwork and presence of mind (all reminiscent of Gavaskar, Tendulkar and other Mumbai greats), he accumulated more than a 1000 runs in three consecutive Ranji Trophy seasons between 2008-2011. In 2008 he smashed a splendid 172 against a touring England Lions side composed of international players such as Monty Panesar and Liam Plunkett. In 2009 he struck two 90s, a 60 and a 40 on India’s road to victory in an emerging players tournament in Australia. Back to back 150s in consecutive Irani trophy matches proved what an established domestic player he had become. At this point, Rahane’s first class statistics were up there with some of the greats of Indian cricket. Having shown that he could dominate both seam and spin and adapt to different conditions, he earned his first India call up.

Rahane showed to the world the talent he possessed with three stroke-filled fifties and a couple of delightful 40s across home and away limited over series’ against England in 2011. At full strength, a stacked Indian batting line-up, however, meant that he would have to sit on the sidelines. Mild-mannered in nature, he was often the ‘easiest player to leave out’ from a squad that consisted of the aggressive personalities and outspoken talents that were Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. As his contemporaries started to take over from retiring greats, he was forced to run drinks and at best- come in as a backup. A black belt in Karate, the fighter in him refused to let this deter his confidence. Unable to go back to domestic cricket whilst travelling with the national team, he lacked game time, and would have to rely on practice sessions to hone his game. As Tendulkar indicated in his post retirement pep-talk- Rahane gave it his all in these practice sessions and committed himself to impress in however few matches he would get. He built a reputation as the ultimate team-man and the management were keen for him to get a return on that investment. Following Tendulkar’s departure, after spending close to two years ‘supporting’ the team, Rahane finally started to become a mainstay in the Indian playing eleven.

In just his third test against South Africa, he scored back to back 50s (51 and 96), again having to fight back from being hit in the head (this time thanks to a deadly Dale Styen bouncer); playing some classical counter-attacking cricket on a seam-friendly wicket in Durban. His first 100 came a couple of months later in Wellington against New Zealand in a series where all his contemporaries failed to score big in the swinging conditions. Albeit in losing causes, Rahane proved to the team management that he was the man with the technique to both survive and score in overseas conditions.

In the summer of 2014, England greeted India to one of the greenest wickets one can remember in recent times- at the home of cricket at Lords. Collapsing to 145-7, Rahane batting at 5, displayed some excellent batsmanship with his classy deft touch, rotation of strike and elegant back short arm punches taking India towards a competitive total. Stitching together a partnership with Bhuveneshwar Kumar, his 103 carried the team to 295- an assertive lofted straight drive off Jimmy Anderson for 6 aptly representing the mark he had left on the game. 4 days later, a magical Ishant Sharma spell ensured victory for India- their first in England since 2007 and first in a SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) country since 2010. Over the year Rahane eased into a comfort zone in the Indian middle order, a flat-batted pull shot running down the wicket to an in form Mitchell Johnson on his way to 147 at the MCG- further evidence of him stamping his authority on the game. By 2015 he had re-built his reputation to being India’s most successful batsman overseas.

Towards the end of 2015 critics started to point out a significant difference in Rahane’s performances at home versus away. A four test series against South Africa was the perfect opportunity for him to silence the chatter, however, with the pitches turning square- no batsmen across both teams could manage to score a century in the first 3 tests. The wicket for fourth test in Delhi was also dry and spinning, however, Rahane proved himself to be a class apart smashing a century in each innings, leading India to sweeping 3-0 victory. A 188 against New Zealand at home in 2016 further established Rahane as one of the best in the business. As a reward for his consistent performances, Rahane was named vice captain of the Indian test team. From sitting on the bench for 2 years to becoming India’s number 2- his story is the perfect example of how hard work pays off.

Rahane’s success at the test level led to the team management giving him a shot in the limited overs playing XI as well. In 2014 he played in the ODI side as a backup opener, scoring a century in England and making valuable contributions at home. He played the T20 world cup in 2014 as an opener throughout India’s campaign to the final, however, in the lead up to the 50 over world cup the following year- MS Dhoni turned him into India’s designated number 4 given Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan’s success up top and the team’s vulnerability in the middle. Scoring a scintillating 70 at the MCG in the World Cup group stage and multiple 50s in a bilateral series against Australia, Rahane seemed to adapt well to the role. However, with the top order also firing through this time, Dhoni would often promote either himself or Suresh Raina ahead of Rahane to finish the innings. Whilst he was able to easily cement his role in the test team, Rahane was getting a lot of mixed signals as to what was expected of him in the limited overs. “He needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better on pitches that have some pace. But on a slow pitch, whenever he has batted at No. 4 or 5, he does have a problem in freely rotating the strike at the start of his innings. I think Ajinkya will have to wait”. These were the words of MS Dhoni as he dropped Rahane from the playing XI soon after the World Cup. He had tried to adapt his game to be more attacking in the middle and carry forward the impetus, but his exploits clearly weren't enough for Dhoni and the management.

Being juggled up and down the batting order and in and out of the limited overs team seemed to have a lasting impact on Rahane’s game. Following his promotion to vice captain of the test team in 2016, a perpetually confused Rahane averaged a poor 29.3 from 23 innings across 2 years. This led to him being dropped for the first two tests against South Africa in 2018. Brought back in for the third test, he scored a valiant 48 on a seaming wicket to help India claim their only victory in the series. With Kohli now India’s all format captain- Rahane made a comeback in the limited overs side at number 4. Having limited success, Kohli and the team management decided to make a long term decision- branding him as a test specialist to give him some clarity of thought. However, at this point Rahane’ career was already in a state of flux. Disappointed with being left out of the conversation for the 2019 World Cup, he was forced to double down on his test match batting. Now carrying a label of a slow, innings builder (a reputation that Chesteshwar Pujara has made famous) he always seemed like he was in two minds as to how to approach an innings. Truly, his best test innings since the 2018 saga (81 at Trent Bridge in 2018, 70 at Adelaide in 2018, 102 at Antigua in 2019, 115 at Ranchi in 2019 and a 112 at the MCG on 2020) came when he was in a positive mindset and taking on the bowlers like he did back in 2014-2016. Though his average picked up into the mid 30s through this period, he only scored 3 centuries and made a habit of getting out at crucial junctures in crucial games. It seemed like Rahane was doing just enough to keep his spot in the team, but not doing enough to create the same impact he used to have on games.

In December 2020, Rahane, still vice captain, was tasked with leading the Indian team for three test matches in Australia following Kohli’s decision to return home and witness the birth of his first child. In the one match Kohli did play, India squandered a 53 run lead, collapsing for 36 in the third innings. The Boxing Day test at the MCG followed and Rahane showed superb leadership skills, rotating his bowlers and bringing spinner Ravichandran Ashwin into the game early, on the way to bowling Australia out for 195. Following two early wickets, Rahane came in and took control of the game, playing out the new ball threat and capitalising once set. A brilliant 112 set the tone for not only the rest of the match but the rest of the series. What made the series victory in Australia even more special was the manner in which they did it. Struck by multiple injuries (7) and strict quarantine rules (due to the ongoing pandemic), Rahane was forced to operate with net-bowlers in the final test at the Gabba. Able to rally his troops around him, Rahane got contributions out of each member of the squad as a 329 run chase on the final day in Brisbane marked India’s rise from regular championship contenders to a side with genuine world dominating potential. Given the responsibility of captaincy and a clear cut goal, it seemed as though the Ajinkya Rahane of old was back, at least temporarily.

Since Tendulkar’s retirement in 2013, the Indian team has gone on to win 19 out of the 25 test series they have played both home and away. A lot of this success has to be credited to Rahane and the way he has supported Kohli in the team's rise to the top. Whilst his exploits in Australia earned him another reputation of being India's ‘crisis man’, he has averaged a mere 21 in the 20 innings following his ton at the MCG. With the team now strong enough to contend for every game across all conditions, Rahane’s contributions with the bat need to be game in game out and not once in a series. In what is now a world dominating team, Rahane’s inconsistency is creating a liability. What seems to be of greater concern is his mindset. Following a 61 run innings at Lords that helped keep India in the game but by no means did it help them win it, Rahane was quoted saying “I am happy that people are talking about Pujara & me, not really concerned about all the talks surrounding the form. We know how to handle pressure & we are doing just that”. This, Virat Kohli like, defiance coupled with an Instagram post of him smiling widely captioned “when the trolls get trolled”, indicate that he is content with his most recent performances. But the thing is, the Ajinkya Rahane of 2016 would not be content with such performances. The Ajinkya Rahane of 2008-2011 would frankly not expect to be playing at this level with such performances. The team he captained in December 2020 showed to the world that India has a whole bank of players waiting in the wings, ready to seize their opportunity. This Indian team is no longer a part of just the competitive conversation, nor is it just competing to win titles; it is competing to rule the world. With Rahane failing to find his consistency, it is only a matter of time before he gets replaced by someone from the domestic system he helped grow. No farewell speech, no standing ovation, Ajinkya Rahane will once again have to watch from the sideline and be content with the fact that he helped India reach this position.