Reports: Ranji Trophy performance to decide the fate of Ajinkya Rahane

Following an elongated torrid run with the bat, 34-year-old Maharashtra-born batsman, Ajinkya Rahane finds himself out of international reckoning for the first time in ages. 

One of the mainstays of the Indian batting in the last decade or so, Rahane was given a long rope from the team management. However, he wasn’t able to repay their trust at all. 

Therefore, Ajinkya Rahane now faces the challenge to earn his place back into the Indian Test Team by doing well in the local circuit. 

Ranji Trophy to decide the future of Ajinkya Rahane 

In the last 2 years, Rahane has been a pale shadow of himself and has failed to score a single century since his MCG heroics in 2020. 

In 2021 & 2022 combined, Ajinkya Rahane played 15 test matches, scoring only 547 runs (3 fifties, 0 hundreds) at a poor average of 20.3 runs per dismissal. 

Resultantly, he was dropped when Team India played against SL, and more recently, the rescheduled test against Ben Stokes’ England. 

Following the 2022 T20 World Cup, India is scheduled to tour Bangladesh in November and December for a series comprising 3 ODIs and 2 tests.

Interestingly, according to reputed cricket reporter @mufaddal_vohra, Rahane is not getting a place in the test side for the upcoming tour. 

Ajinkya Rahane is not in the scheme of things for the Bangladesh series in December, but if he performs well in Ranji Trophy, he might be back for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. (Reported by TOI).

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 22, 2022

However, not all is lost for the star batsman from Maharashtra. If one believes Times of India (TOI), Rahane has been asked to regain his form by playing domestic first- class tournaments in India.

Rahane can still earn his place back into the squad for 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy if he finds form in Duleep Trophy 2022 (September 8 to 25) and more importantly, Ranji Trophy 2022-23 (December 13 onwards).

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Notably, Ajinkya Rahane is yet to return to competitive cricketing action since he picked up a hamstring injury while turning up for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League.