Rahane finishes his international career of 12 years that spanned from 2011 to 2023 with 5077 runs at 38.46 with 12 centuries, 2962 ODI runs at 35.26 with three hundreds and 375 T20I runs at 20.83 with a strike rate of 113.29. He led India in six Tests, of which they won four and drew two.
“I’ve always relied on timing in my batting, and I’ve always understood its importance,” Rahane said in a video he posted on Instagram. “Today, I feel the timing is right for me to move on and announce my retirement from international cricket and all formats. From those early days traveling from Dombivli as a young boy just to practice, I gave this game everything I had.
“Every single day, every innings, every opportunity I got to bat, the dream was always to wear the India cap. I lived by one simple rule: always put my country and my team ahead of myself. I played this game with complete honesty, and I have always believed that if your intent is right, the game will always take care of you.
“Since the time I made my debut as a first-class cricketer, Indian cricket has grown tremendously, and I feel so proud to have been a part of it over the last 20 years. While my chapter as an Indian cricketer comes to an end, my journey with the game doesn’t. I look forward to helping the next generation, sharing the values the sport has taught me, and giving back to the game that has given me everything.”
Rahane was a reliable middle-order batter for India, especially away from home. While he also played a lot more Tests away than home – 51 compared to 32 – he was also more prolific on foreign soil where he averaged 39.43 compared to 35.73 at home. He scored eight of his 12 Test centuries away from home, the first of which was in Wellington in February 2014. That it came less than two months after his knocks of 51* and 96 in Durban in the Boxing Day Test and was followed by a century at Lord’s in July 2014 was proof that he was here to stay in the Test middle order.
Rahane had made his ODI debut a year and a half before his Test debut but his first ODI century came right after the Lord’s hundred, when he scored 106 at Edgbaston as part of a 3-1 series win in the same summer of 2014.
Rahane conquered more overseas grounds, scoring Test centuries in Melbourne, Kingston and Colombo, while also smashing twin centuries in the Delhi Test against South Africa in December 2015.
But he started getting dropped around 2017-18 as the big scores started to dry up. His most impactful series was in 2020-21 in Australia, when India were bundled for 36 in Adelaide, regular captain Virat Kohli flew back home for the birth of his first child and the reigns were with an under-pressure Rahane. He responded with a glorious century at the MCG that set the tone for India’s fightback to clinch the series in dramatic fashion at the Gabba.
Rahane’s last big game was the WTC final in 2023 against Australia at The Oval, where he top-scored for India but he played only two Tests after that.
“To the BCCI, the MCA, my team-mates, my coaches, every IPL franchise, to Radhika, my entire family, my friends, and everyone who stood by me, thank you. And a very special thank you to all the cricket fans who supported me through every highs and lows,” he said while holding back tears.
