‘One Game at a Time’: Ajinkya Rahane Gears up to Lead Mumbai in Ranji Trophy

Once a constant in India’s Test set-up, Ajinkya Rahane has been out of international cricket for quite some time now. The veteran batter, known for his stellar record in overseas conditions, has fallen in the pecking order, in parallel to the emergence of several young talents in recent times. Rahane last time donned the whites for India during a West Indies tour back in July last year. While waiting for a recall, the 35-year-old cricketer keeps honing his skills in the domestic circuit. After leading Mumbai at the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Rahane is now gearing up to feature in the upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy, beginning on January 5.

Rahane seems desperate to make the most out of the first-class tournament. He recently dropped a video on X (formerly Twitter) where Rahane could be seen sweating it out during a practice session, along with other members of the Mumbai unit. “Building up for the Ranji season ahead, one game at a time,” Rahane wrote in the caption of the post.

Fans were certainly happy to see Rahane in his groove as they extended their best wishes to the Mumbai captain for his Ranji Trophy assignments. One of them was quick to brand Rahane as the “overseas Test performer.”

One fan seemed hopeful that the Ajinya Rahane-led side would succeed in ending Mumbai’s long wait for the Ranji Trophy this season. “May Mumbai win the Ranji Trophy this season. The last time Mumbai won the title was in 2015-16. That’s a huge gap for 41-time Champions,” the person commented.

Another fan can’t wait to see Rahane back in the Indian Test squad as he said, “Come back strongly for the England series.”

Under the leadership of Rahane, Mumbai reached the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy where they lost to Tamil Nadu. Despite the team’s commendable performance, Rahane failed to match the expectations. In his 8 appearances during the campaign, Rahane managed only 158 runs at a below-par batting average of 26.33. His best score came in a group league match against Tripura where Rahane scored 78 runs off 84 balls.

Mumbai announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy earlier on January 1. While most of the players from the last season were retained, big names like Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prithvi Shaw were absent. Mumbai will begin their campaign with a big match against Bihar on January 5.