Ajinkya Rahane: The most complete batsman who was incomplete

6 min readJul 30, 2026 07:04 PM IST Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on Thursday announced his retirement from International cricket with immediate effect, saying that the time is right for him to "move on" on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (PTI/File) With his characteristic bashful smile, Ajinkya Rahane announced his farewell from the game that was his life for the last twenty years. In an Instagram video that was as crisp as his punches through covers, he said in a deeply philosophical tone: “The reality of life is that everything has a beginning and everything has an end. When the time comes, we simply have to respect it and move forward.” If there was a hint of regret in his voice, in the uncertainty his career traversed in the last three years, in the greatness it felt agonisingly short of,