Ajinkya Rahane Pulls Out of Ranji Trophy Season
In a significant development, former India captain Ajinkya Rahane has decided to skip the remainder of the Ranji Trophy season. The Mumbai Cricket Association confirmed this news on Saturday. Rahane cited personal reasons for his withdrawal.
Impact on Mumbai's Campaign
This decision comes as a surprise for Mumbai cricket fans. The team currently leads Group D with twenty-four points. They have won three matches out of five without any outright defeats.
Mumbai faces Hyderabad in an away match from January twenty-second to twenty-fifth. They then return home to play Delhi at the MCA-BKC ground from January twenty-ninth to February first. The team selection for the Hyderabad game happened on Saturday itself.
MCA Secretary Confirms the News
Unmesh Khanvilkar, secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, provided confirmation. He stated that Rahane informed the selection committee before their meeting. The veteran batter will not participate in the remaining red-ball season due to personal reasons.
Interestingly, Rahane inaugurated the MCA's Cricket Kit Fair at Wankhede Stadium on the same day. This event took place just before the selection committee gathering.
Rahane's Recent Domestic Performance
The thirty-seven-year-old batter missed the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. However, he did play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Rahane emerged as Mumbai's highest run-scorer in that competition.
He accumulated three hundred ninety-one runs across ten matches. His average stood at forty-eight point eight seven. Rahane registered three half-centuries during the tournament. His highest score remained ninety-five not out against Odisha.
In the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Rahane stepped down from captaincy at the beginning. His performance has been average so far. He scored two hundred nine runs in four matches with an average of thirty-four point eight four. His only century came against Chhattisgarh where he made one hundred fifty-nine runs.
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has taken over the Mumbai captaincy from Rahane.
International Career and Domestic Struggles
Rahane last played for India in July two thousand twenty-three against West Indies at Port of Spain. That marked his eighty-fifth Test match for the country. He has scored five thousand seventy-seven runs in Test cricket with an average of thirty-eight point four six. His record includes twelve centuries and twenty-six half-centuries.
The national selection committee has not considered him for over two years now. During this period, Rahane played extensive domestic cricket for Mumbai. He hoped for a Test recall but could not produce significant scores in the Ranji Trophy.
His struggles led to exclusion from the West Zone side for the Duleep Trophy at the season's start. Rahane captained the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. His leadership role for the upcoming IPL season remains uncertain.
Rahane's Legacy with Mumbai
Ajinkya Rahane has always expressed his love for red-ball cricket. He captained Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the twenty twenty-three to twenty-four season. This victory ended a seven-year championship drought for the team.
He also led Mumbai to the Irani Cup victory in twenty twenty-four to twenty-five. When stepping down as captain, Rahane made a heartfelt statement.
He called captaining and winning championships with Mumbai an absolute honor. Rahane believed the time was right to groom a new leader for the domestic season ahead. He expressed full commitment to continue as a player for Mumbai. The veteran batter promised to help the team win more trophies in the future.
