Maharashtra-born Ajinkya Rahane is not a big-hitting menace but a batter who oozes of class and is technical sound in modern day cricket. Rahane made it to the Indian team in 2013 after racking up over 1,000 runs in his second Ranji Trophy season. Over the years, Rahane has not been the most consistent performance on the international stage but his knocks in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries made him an indispensable part of the Test team for years. Rahane is not one for wild celebrations and is being called 'Jinks' or ‘Jinx’ by his teammates.
Rahane made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of the tournament. It was not until he joined Rajasthan Royals (RR), he got the new nickname. Legendary Australian spinner and first IPL-winning captain, Shane Warne was mentor for RR.
"Warne considered me a jinx to the other team," Rahane said in an interview in 2017. He got the nickname for his ability to play excellent knocks irrespective of conditions.
Also, his first name ‘Ajinkya’ was tough for Warne to pronounce and he started calling him ‘Jinx’. Now, even the commentators call him by the nickname.
Rahane’s other nickname
However, his old nickame is 'Ajju'. Rahane revealed in 2016 that he is called 'Ajju' by his parents, wife and his grandparents.
Rahane’s IPL career
Rahane played for the Royals from 2011 to 2019. He even captained the side from two seasons. Under his captaincy, RR lost 15 games out of 24. He was later released by the franchise and was picked by Delhi Capitals (DC) where he did not get enough chances. In 2023, he had a stellar season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he played fearlessly with a strike rate of 172.49. He is in the top 10 list of Indian batters with most runs in IPL history.
Rahane's Test career
The veteran has fallen out-of-favour with the selectors. His last outing was against West Indies last year where he failed to make a mark. He had announced his comeback in the World Test Championship 2023 final against Australia but failed to replicate it in the Caribbean conditions. He has scored 5,077 runs from 85 Tests at an average of 38.46. He has 12 centuries and 25 half-centuries to his name in the format. The highlight of his career will be when he led a depleted Indian squad to a Border-Gavaskar Trophy series win on Australian soil.
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