Star cricketer Ajinkya Rahane announced his retirement from all forms of cricket last week, and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar gave him a heartfelt farewell. Rahane frequently avoided attention and carried on with his life without making much of an impression. When Virat Kohli was unavailable, the 38-year-old demonstrated his leadership skills by taking over as captain in Test matches. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in 2020–21 against all odds will always be Rahane’s greatest accomplishment.
After the Indian side was bowled out for 36 in the first match of the series, Kohli returned home to await the birth of their first child with his wife, Anushka Sharma. India overcame a 0-1 deficit to win the series 2-1 despite the visitors losing multiple players due to injuries.
Gavaskar Compares Rahane With Dravid
Regarding Rahane, Gavaskar claimed that the right-handed hitter consistently went unnoticed and was never given the recognition he merited as captain. Rahane was also compared to Rahul Dravid by the 1983 World Cup winner.
“His record as a skipper is exceptional, with four wins out of six and no losses. Like Rahul Dravid, who also had some terrific wins under his captaincy but never got the credit he deserved, so also Rahane’s leadership hardly got the applause that it merited,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“This is typical of Indian cricket. When the team wins, all praise goes to the individual achievers, be it batters and bowlers, but when the team loses, the captain and the coach get the blame,” he added.
Rahane led from the front in the 2020–21 series against Australia, setting the stage for an Indian victory with a century in the very next Test following the Adelaide fiasco.
“After the demoralising collapse of 36 all out in the first Test of the 2021 series Down Under, it was Rahane, along with Ravi Shastri, who picked the team from the dumps. The vice-captain took over a ship that was ready to sink and not only sailed it into calmer waters but also gave India an unprecedented first win at Australia’s fortress ‘The Gabba’ and with it the series victory too,” wrote Gavaskar.
“In fact, in the final Test of the series, when most of the top players were unavailable due to injury, India pulled off one of its greatest victories in Test cricket. It proved once again, if ever it was needed, that nobody is indispensable in this game,” he added.
Gavaskar Hails Rahane
Additionally, Sunil Gavaskar believes that Ajinkya Rahane will be able to walk away with his head held high. He claims that the right-handed hitter has never made an enemy during his playing career, something that very few athletes can claim.
“Rahane leaves the game with his head held high and the sincere thanks of cricket lovers for the totally selfless way he played the game. It’s not of many cricketers that it can be said that they did not have a single enemy in the game. There are perhaps less than a dozen, to the best of my knowledge and experience. Ajinkya Rahane can take his place there with his typical humility,” Gavaskar concluded.