Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Dravid [Source: AFP, x]Ajinkya Rahane silently bowed out of the game last week to bring down curtains on his illustrious two-decade-long competitive career. One of India’s greatest batters this century, the outbound cricketer received glowing tributes from several former teammates and national legends.Sunil Gavaskar also praised Rahane and even compared him with fellow Team India icon and former head coach Rahul Dravid. According to Gavaskar, both Rahane and Dravid hardly received the credit they deserved within the Indian team for their efforts.Ajinkya Rahane captaincy never got credit, believes Sunil GavaskarWhile writing in his column for Mid-Day, India’s all-time great Sunil Gavaskar praised ‘captain’ Ajinkya Rahane for his unbeaten record in Test cricket. It is worth noting that though Rahane only served as Virat Kohli’s deputy, the cricketer always stood up for Team India whenever the regular skipper was unavailable. Also Read- Ajinkya Rahane's Test Career In Numbers: A Tale Of Two Contrasting HalvesGavaskar also compared the recently-retired Indian player to prominent national icon Rahul Dravid. The cricketer-turned-commentator wrote “His record as a skipper is exceptional, with four wins out of six and no losses. Like Rahul Dravid, who also had some terrific wins under his captaincy but never got the credit he deserved, so also Rahane’s leadership hardly got the applause that it merited.”Sunil Gavaskar recalls Rahane’s greatest triumph for IndiaOne of the most defining moments of Ajinkya Rahane’s brief captaincy career occurred in Australia way back in late-2020 and early 2021. In the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli after the Adelaide debacle, Rahane led the side to two wins in the remaining three Tests to lift the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Moreover, a win in the decider for an injury-ravaged Indian side even halted Australia’s unbeaten juggernaut at the Gabba after over three decades. In his column, Sunil Gavaskar praised captain Ajinkya Rahane as well as then head coach Ravi Shastri for picking the team “from the dumps”, at a time when several first-choice Indian players were struggling with injuries.The cricketer-turned-commentator wrote “After the demoralising collapse of 36 all out in the first Test of the 2021 series Down Under, it was Rahane, along with Ravi Shastri, who picked the team from the dumps. The vice-captain took over a ship that was ready to sink and not only sailed it into calmer waters but also gave India an unprecedented first win at Australia’s fortress ‘The Gabba’ and with it the series victory too.”He added “In fact, in the final Test of the series, when most of the top players were unavailable due to injury, India pulled off one of its greatest victories in Test cricket. It proved once again, if ever it was needed, that nobody is indispensable in this game.”Ajinkya Rahane’s record as captain and playerAjinkya Rahane was part of the Indian team that reached the semifinal of the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.A veteran of 85 Tests, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is, the elegant right-handed batter aggregated over 8,000 runs across all formats at an average of nearly 36. As captain, Rahane led Team India to four Test wins in six matches with no defeats. Notably, three of those Test matches were played on Australian soil, all between December 2020 and January 2021. Quite recently, he led the KKR franchise in the IPL 2026 season in India. Unfortunately, his team failed to make it to the playoffs of the tournament.Also Read- Why The India Vs Sri Lanka Tour Could Define KL Rahul's Test Career
