Ajinkya Rahane stated that he has no regrets about his decision to leave cricket. The experienced Indian player emphasized that he made the decision to retire after careful consideration and is completely satisfied with what he gave to the sport.
After announcing his retirement, he was contacted by many of his former teammates. Rahane reported that the great batsman Sachin Tendulkar was the first to call him. Sachin expressed hope that Rahane would play for a long time yet.
Rahane explained that he clearly told Sachin that he did not wish to artificially prolong his career. He believes that now is the right time since he has contributed his full effort on the field and has no regrets.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Rahane noted that Sachin Paaji called him first. He mentioned that he expected him to continue playing, but he replied that he did not want to drag out his career as he was leaving without regrets.
Not only Sachin, but many old acquaintances of Rahane contacted him after his departure. Irfan Pathan called him, while Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah started communicating via messages. Rahane noted that the reaction of all these players was similar: they acknowledged his satisfaction because he worked honestly for the sport and gave it everything.
Rahane recalled his first years with the Indian team when he joined in 2011. He recounted that in the first five to six months of his career, he mainly observed the senior players of the team to learn. At that time, big figures like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, and Virender Sehwag were present in the Indian team dressing room. According to Rahane, all these players provided him with significant support.
He also mentioned that during that period, sufficient time for net practice was primarily given to the main squad players. Players who were not in the starting lineup had fewer opportunities to practice. Because of this, Rahane learned a lot by observing the senior players and later applied this knowledge in his game.
Rahane also witnessed the transformation of the Indian team from within. According to him, as old veterans left the team, the atmosphere in the dressing room began to change. He noticed that at a certain point, there were many players in the team who had played together before, which created a special bond and sense of unity among the athletes. The players' thoughts were also quite similar.
During that period, the team aimed to win more matches by playing aggressive cricket. However, when new generation players started joining the Indian team, Rahane and his teammates adopted a different approach to the dressing room. They focused on creating an environment where young players felt comfortable and where their good performances and achievements were openly celebrated.
Rahane emphasized that the goal of this new phase was to create a dressing room where there would be no room for arrogance or jealousy among players. He wanted every player to praise the success of another and maintain cohesion within the team.
Ajinkya Rahane represented India in international cricket from 2011 to 2023. During this period, he played 85 Test matches, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20 Internationals. Throughout his career, Rahane was known for his technique, patience, and psychological resilience in difficult situations. Now, having retired from cricket, he has made it clear that he does not regret his decision. In his opinion, he left the sport with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that he contributed his full effort to the team and the game.
His career statistics are as follows:
- Tests: 85 matches, 5077 runs, average 38.46; 12 centuries, 26 half-centuries, strike rate 49.50; 578 fours, 35 sixes.
- ODIs: 90 matches, 2962 runs, average 35.26; 3 centuries, 24 half-centuries, strike rate 78.63; 293 fours, 33 sixes.
- T20Is: 20 matches, 375 runs, average 20.83; 1 half-century, strike rate 113.29; 32 fours, 6 sixes.
