Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has come forward and announced his retirement from international cricket. He shared an emotional message with his fans on his social media, making the announcement official. At 38 years old, Rahane called time on his stellar international cricket career.ย
The veteran batter took to social media and shared a message with his fans, where he got visibly emotional, describing his time with the Indian team and how he gave it his all for the country. One of the biggest heroes of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21, Rahane etched his name in the history of Indian cricket with that series win over Australia down under.ย
In the video message, Rahane reflected on how it was the right time to move forward in his career, and while he was calling time on his playing career, he wanted to stay closely involved with the sport.ย
“The reality of life is that everything has a beginning and everything has an end. When the time comes, you simply have to respect it and move forward. I have always relied on timing in my batting and have always understood its importance. Today, I feel the timing is right for me to move on and announce my retirement from international cricket and all formats. From those early days, travelling from Dombivli as a young boy just to practice, I gave this game everything I had,โ Rahane said in the clip.ย
Rahaneโs career in numbers
Widely revered as one of the most resilient batters in the Indian team, Rahane undoubtedly gave it his all whenever he was given the chance to represent team India. Throughout his career, the 38-year-old played a total of 85 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20I matches.ย
Across those 195 matches, Rahane went on to score 8,414 runs, with 5,077 of those coming in the longest format of the game. He also turned out across 212 IPL matches with six different franchises.ย
Making his way into the Indian Test team for their series against Australia back in 2013, he quickly established himself as a core member of that side for the years to come. He became a crucial middle-order batter for the Test team, especially performing brilliantly in overseas conditions, scoring eight of his 12 Test tons away from home.
Also Read:
Stephen Fleming to take over as England’s next Test head coach? Check what reports say