Ajinkya Rahane’s cricket legacy is beyond numbers!

John Wooden, the legendary American collegiate basketball coach, is credited with famously saying, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

One can’t dispute either the import or the gravity of those words, but how can it not be a test of character when 90,000 people are dissecting your every move in the closed cauldron of a fierce setting such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground? chickenroad.qpon

Ajinkya Rahane faced a sterling examination of his inner steel in December of 2020. The stage was set perfectly — not even the most creative script writer could have conjured the dramatic developments leading up to the second of four Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India had surrendered the day-night opener in Adelaide inside three days by eight wickets. And not just surrendered. They were shot out for 36 in the second innings, their lowest Test tally. Virat Kohli was to leave on paternity leave after Adelaide, and accompanying him on the flight back home was seasoned paceman Mohammed Shami, out of the series with a broken forearm.

On Rahane, the designated vice-captain, fell the onerous task of rallying his troops. Rahane doesn’t read the riot act; instead, he takes it upon himself to quell any riot, and thus came one of the most fluent of his 12 Test centuries, in the Boxing Day showdown. It was a magnificent compilation, numerically worth 112, whose value ratcheted up because of the circumstances under which it came and for the outcome it catalysed. Rahane himself applied the finishing touches, bringing up a series-levelling eight-wicket win with an unglamourous single — how boringly archetypal Rahane, you say? — and eventually masterminding an otherworldly 2-1 triumph in a series India had no business winning, considering they played the decider in Brisbane with less than half the first-choice XI that started in Adelaide.

That tour of Australia in 2020-21 was the defining moment of Rahane’s chequered Test career, marked by sporadic extraordinary efforts which were sometimes eclipsed by a pronounced and inexplicable struggle for fluency in the familiar environs of home. For all his mastery of the MCG and Lord’s, and Wellington and Kingston, only four of his 12 centuries came at home, which explains a modest average of 38.46 from 85 matches. Rahane will be the first to admit that he left a couple of thousand runs behind (5,077 isn’t miniscule, let’s not forget), and that he has no one to blame but himself for that staggering anomaly.

Rahane’s tactical nous and unquestioned man-management skills were tested in only six Tests (won four, drew two), which is a shame because clearly, he had so much to offer as leader and strategist. But he had to operate in the giant shadow of Virat Kohli, the all-round package, and Cheteshwar Pujara, the immovable object, so we should cut him some slack and view him with more kindness than his statistics would dictate.

Zero
No. of defeats for Rahane as Test captain; under his leadership India won four games and drew two

8414
Total number of runs scored by Ajinkya Rahane in 195 international matches (5077 in 85 Tests, 2962 in 90 ODIs, and 375 in 20 T20Is)

Eight
No. of overseas Test centuries scored by Rahane besides four at home

Punjab’s Lovepreet Singh, hailing from Bal Sachandar village in Amritsar district, won the silver medal in the men’s +110 kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Lovepreet lifted a total of 388 kg (176 kg in the snatch and 212 kg in the clean and jerk). The silver medal comes four years after he claimed bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

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Born into a humble family that survived on ‘mehnat mazdoori’—as Lovepreet’s father, Kirpal Singh, says—Lovepreet’s journey to the international stage was far from easy. His grandfather, Gurmej Singh, and paternal uncle earned a living by selling vegetables. Before leaving for training, Lovepreet would accompany them to the wholesale vegetable market at 5 am to help unload the vegetables. Only after finishing the work he would head to practice.

Lovepreet took up weightlifting while studying in Class VIII. Inspired by weightlifters from his village, he dreamt of making a name for himself in the sport. The turning point came when another youngster from Bal Sachandar won a silver medal at the state level.

“The entire village celebrated that achievement. Seeing the joy it brought, we wanted our son to take up sports and build a better future. Lovepreet was equally motivated,” recalled his father, Kirpal, a tailor.

The hard work soon paid off. While in Class IX, Lovepreet won his first state-level medal, giving him the confidence to pursue the sport seriously.

Lovepreet trained at a college ground located far from his home. Every day, his father would take him on a bicycle to the bus stop. From there, Lovepreet would take an auto-rickshaw to the ground.

“That was our daily routine. That’s how the struggle began,” said Kirpal.

On his son’s achievement, an emotional Kirpal said, “After the bronze medal earlier and now the silver, I cannot express what I am feeling. It is all because of the Almighty that we have lived to see these happy days. Otherwise, we didn’t have much.”

Rohit Sharma on Ajinkya Rahane Retirement: भारतीय क्रिकेट टीम के दिग्गज बल्लेबाज अजिंक्य रहाणे ने गुरुवार को इंटरनेशनल क्रिकेट को अलविदा कह दिया। करीब दो दशक लंबे अपने शानदार करियर पर विराम लगाते हुए रहाणे ने इंस्टाग्राम पर एक भावुक वीडियो शेयर कर संन्यास का ऐलान किया। उनके इस फैसले के बाद पूरे क्रिकेट जगत से उन्हें बधाइयां मिल रही हैं। इसी कड़ी में उनके मुंबई के साथी और भारत के पूर्व कप्तान रोहित शर्मा ने भी एक बेहद खास और भावुक संदेश लिखा है।

One of India’s finest batsmen, Ajinkya Rahane bid adieu to international cricket and all forms of the game on July 30, 2026, three years after playing his last Test match for India.

Rahane had a 19-year professional career, having made his domestic debut in all three formats in 2007. The highly talented right-hander from Mumbai earned his debut ODI and T20I caps in 2011 and Test cap in 2013.

He quickly established himself in the ODI and Test teams. And while his white-ball India career didn’t shoot up, Rahane became a mainstay in India’s middle order of the Test lineup.

Rahane is remembered for his batting exploits away from home and for marshalling one of Test cricket’s most famous series wins when India beat Australia down under to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 after being blown away for only 36 runs in the first Test in Adelaide.

Rahane bows out with 85 Test matches, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20Is. He amassed a little over 5000 runs in Test cricket with 12 centuries, though his average of 38 belies the tough conditions he faced both at home and away since the inception of the ICC World Test Championship in 2019. Rahane had a stellar record outside India: in 51 away Test matches, Rahane scored 3234 runs with eight hundreds.

He had a giant IPL career as well: 5367 runs in 212 matches for six different franchises.

Let us check out Rahane’s five highest scores in Test matches.

Top 5 Highest Scores Of Ajinkya Rahane In Test Cricket

5. 126 vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2015

On a typical spin-friendly Colombo surface, Rahane scored a remarkable century in India’s second innings on the 2015 tour.

Batting at No. 3, his 126 runs made of 243 balls were crucial in India handing the hosts a huge target of 413, chasing which, Sri Lanka were knocked over for only 134.

4) 127 vs South Africa, Delhi, 2015

The India vs South Africa Test match in Delhi in 2015 was one of Ajinkya Rahane’s best games: on a pitch where no team managed to cross 350 in four innings, Rahane made 127 and 100* to ride India to a 337-run victory.

His 127 in the first innings of the Test match set up the game for India.

3) 132 vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2017

India hammered Sri Lanka 3-0 in the 2017 Test series. In the 2nd Test, in Colombo, India piled up 622 runs in the first innings of the match and buried Sri Lanka under it to win by an innings.

Rahane scored 132 runs and shared a 217-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Pujara, who ended up with one run more than Rahane.

2) 147 vs Australia, Melbourne, 2014

By the time Rahane toured Australia for the first time as a Test player, he had already proven his mettle with centuries at Lord’s and Wellington.

In Melbourne in 2014, he only elevated his status as one of the best Test batsmen of his generation. Rahane and Kohli led the way in giving a strong response to Australia’s first innings total of 530, with both the middle-order batters notching up hundreds.

Rahane scored 147 and Kohli went on to finish with 169. The match ended in a draw.

1) 188 vs New Zealand, Indore, 2016

Rahane’s highest score in Test cricket is 188, which he registered against New Zealand in 2016 in Indore. In India’s first innings, while Rahane fell 12 short of his maiden double ton, Kohli got to that landmark as India amassed 557. The hosts won the Test match by over 300 runs.

Will Rahane play in IPL 2027?

No, Rahane retired from all forms of the game and will not feature in next year’s IPL. Rahane captained KKR in the last two IPL seasons, where KKR finished in the bottom half of the points table. The franchise will have to name a new skipper for IPL 2027.

What is Ajinkya Rahane’s best score in a Test match?

In Test cricket, Rahane’s best score is 188 that he achieved in 2016 against New Zealand at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Rahane didn’t make a double century in Tests.

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