Rahane, the quiet one

Rohit Mahajan

Ajinkya Rahane, diffident in behaviour, slight in build, doesn’t inspire anyone to install him as the Indian cricket superhero. He’s not a destructor, whom we all love on One-day cricket; yet, he’s the man with the golden technique and firm mind, who inspires joy among the watchers and confidence among the team’s fans.

Rahane’s recent record, in the tri-series against Australia and England, was not fabulous, but he was the best among the Indian batsmen. Rohit Sharma played only one innings, getting 138, before injury ended the tournament for him; Rahane top-scored in the series with 146 runs from four innings, with a highest of 73. These are not mind-blowing numbers – his strike rate was only 68.54 against, say, Warner’s 105.16 or Maxwell’s 94.40.

For India to reach the semifinals or the final, their batting must fire in unison every time they play in the knockout stage. Rahane is among the men most trusted to fire, as he partially did in the tri-series.

Rahane’s game stems from a strong technique and a stronger mind. He is correct as a batsman. He’s batted at different positions for India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, but in domestic cricket he’s the conventional No. 3, solid and reliable. But also has the ability to play aggressive, unconventional and ‘dangerous’ shots. He plays the lofted drives, the slash on the off side. He also pulls and hooks, which Indian batsmen tend to avoid. He answers aggression with aggression.

An opener going for strokes is prone to early dismissals, and so is Rahane. The other regular opener, Shikhar Dhawan, is going through bad form, and Rahane’s burden has increased. He’s got the ability to lift it – his past shows that.

Rahane’s rise

The Rahane story is a remarkable one, showing the power of sport in toughening individuals, and also lifting them out of difficult circumstances. His father used to work for BEST, Mumbai’s electricity and transport company. Cricket was an expensive sport to pursue. Training required travelling in the congested Mumbai trains for hours every day, with the heavy cricket gear. Mumbai’s child prodigies get tougher due to this, as Rahane became too.

He made his first-class debut in Karachi, of all places, in the annual Mohammad Nissar Trophy fixture against Pakistan’s champion team, Karachi Urban. He made an immediate impression, with his calmness and his strokes, making 143 runs.

The progress to the Indian team was natural, though it was delayed a bit due to the presence of all-time great batsmen in the Indian Test XI. He got to play his first ODI and T20I in England in 2011, and his first Test in 2013. He’s now a key figure in India’s plans in all formats of the sport.

Low-key hero

Rahane doesn’t date film stars, he’s never seen partying. He’s homely and staid, non-confrontational and shy. Rahane presents a remarkable picture of contrast. He’s diffident, likely to grin shyly even at sledgers.

But we all know that this is a mere facade. The real Rahane is a ferocious fighter – his inner Kohli, as it were, is always ready to be roused. As a kid, he was so shy, he’d hide in the bedroom when visitors called. His father put him in a martial arts class, and Rahane got a karate black belt as a kid.

Little Rahane, thus, turned from the tormented to tormentor – no one could dominate him now. Karate gave strength to his arms and legs and mind. He feared nothing. As he began to shine in cricket, the power of his strokes caused sensation. Soon enough, people began to say that he’d play for India one day.

Rahane now plays for India, with distinction. When batting, he uses his bat with tremendous force to hit aggressive strokes.

He’s not the Indian talisman, he’s not the best Indian batsman; yet, it’s difficult to see India doing well without Rahane making a significant contribution, as batsman and fielder.

Ajinkya Rahane
Age: 26
Role: Batsman

1376 
Runs in ODI cricket

30.57 
Low for a man of his ability

76.57 
A fair strike rate, it does not do justice to his range of shots

2 
Centuries in ODIs

8 
ODI half-centuries

136 
Fours

16 
Sixers

• Did you know Rahane as a kid got a black belt in karate? 
• When he is not playing cricket, he spends time reading, listening to music and driving 
• He finds Sunil Narine and Lasith Malinga as toughest bowlers to play against 
• Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, U Yadav are his best buddies in Team India 
• Favourite movie artists: Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachhan, Priyanka Chopra 
• Favour ground:  In India – Wankhede, Abroad – Lords

Countdown

Defenders of the Crown: In the third of a series, we profile Ajinkya Rahane, the shy warrior

Days to go 
08

Clarke plays in practice match vs B’Desh 

Michael Clarke appeared to be heading in the right direction as the Australian captain today bowled, fielded and batted without any signs of discomfort against Bangladesh in a practice match. Clarke bowled two overs of left-arm spin after the visitors batted first at the Allan Border Field and fielded in the slips most of the time. Clarke also took a sharp catch off Ashton Turner to underline his sure hands in that position. In all, he fielded for 32 of the allotted 50 overs. Clarke, who has been told by selectors to be fit in time for Australia’s second World Cup match against Bangladesh on February 21, then came out to bat as an opener when it was CA XI’s turn to chase a modest target of 194.

India have still not identified their core team: Bedi

Spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi feels India are addressing their injury concerns too late in the day and the defending champions have still not identified their core team. Injured players Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma will be tested on Feb. 7, a day before the Men in Blue play their first warm-up game against Australia and Bedi believes that the team management has left things too late. “Having been in Australia for two-and-a-half-months they have not really touched base with the nucleus of the team. Five or six players should form the crux of the team, who remain a certainty in every match. One or two changes can happen on the pretext of changing a combination or resting a player but by and large six or seven players should be constant throughout and that hasn’t happened so far,” Bedi said. — Agencies