“To the man who defines class” - Twitterati wish Ajinkya Rahane as Team India batter turns 34

Twitter was flooded with wishes for Ajinkya Rahane as the Team India batter turned 34 on Monday, June 6.

The experienced cricketer, who was dropped from the home Test series against Sri Lanka, is currently out of action due to injury. He hurt his hamstring while representing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL 2022 match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 14.

The elegant Mumbai batter made his international debut in 2011 and has since gone on to represent Team India in 82 Tests, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is, scoring a total of 8268 international runs. He, however, hasn’t played a white ball match for India since February 2018.

Rahane was the captain when a depleted Team India defeated Australia 2-1 in the Test series Down Under in 2020-21. Led by Virat Kohli, India succumbed to 36 all-out in the first Test in Adelaide. After Kohli flew home on paternity leave, Rahane took charge of the team and scored a series-defining century in Melbourne. Amazingly, India have never lost a match in which Rahane has scored a century.

Here are some birthday wishes shared on Twitter for Rahane on his 34th birthday:

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“Any team will miss him on and off the field” - Amol Muzumdar on Ajinkya Rahane

Mumbai head coach Amol Muzumdar has admitted that the team will miss the services of Rahane in the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai are taking on Uttarakhand in the quarter-finals, which begin on Monday (June 6).

Speaking about the absence of the veteran batter, Muzumdar told Sportstar:

“Any team will miss him on and off the field, especially in the knockouts, but we have to make do without him. Obviously, one man’s loss is an opportunity to someone and we are confident the younger lot is ready to deliver under pressure.”

The 34-year-old had a mixed Ranji Trophy league-stage campaign. He scored 185 runs in four innings, which included a hundred and a half-century. However, the right-hander recorded two ducks as well.

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