Ajinkya Rahane was ruled out of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match against Puducherry. (PTI)Veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane was ruled out of Mumbai’s Group D Ranji Trophy fixture against Puducherry at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. The reason behind him missing the game was unknown. Akhil Herwardkar was included in the playing XI in Rahane’s place.
The 37-year-old, who did not attend the optional training session on Saturday, has had a mixed time with the bat this season. He had a string of low scores on either side of scoring 159 against Chhattisgarh at the BKC ground.
The former Mumbai captain had vented out his frustration after making the hundred, suggesting that he should have been part of India’s squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which the team eventually lost 3-1.
“It’s not about the age. It’s about the intent. It’s about the passion for the red ball and the hard work you put in the middle. So I don’t believe in that completely”.
“In Australia, you see, Michael Hussey made his debut 30s. Still he made runs. Experience matters in red ball cricket. I thought, personally, the Indian team needed me in Australia,” Rahane had said.
He was dismissed for two runs in the last match against Himachal Pradesh in a match where the Shardul Thakur-led side batted only once.
Rahane last played for India against West Indies in July 2023. He relinquished the Mumbai captaincy ahead of the start of the new season, with Thakur taking over from him in red-ball cricket.
The right-hander has played 85 Tests for India, scoring 5077 runs at an average of 38.46 with 12 hundreds. However, he is yet to play a home Test at the Wankhede Stadium in his career having missed the Tests in 2016 and 2021 when he was the vice-captain of the Test team.
Rahane was retained by his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders when the retention list was announced on Saturday. He captained the side in the 2025 edition of the league.
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