In an Indian cricket team full of bulging muscles, tattooed arms, and gelled hair, a quiet yet very effective man stands out, Ajinkya Rahane. A stark opposite personality to his former captain, Virat Kohli. He looks like a Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid generation with his calm-headedness and textbook batting style. In March 2022, he was awarded a Grade B contract by the BCCI. Let’s delve deeply into the life journey depicted in Ajinkya Rahane’s biography.
AjinkyaRahane Biography
| Name | Ajinkya Rahane |
| Role | Batter |
| DOB | 6 June 1988 |
| Age | 36 |
| Place of Birth | Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India |
| Bowling | Right-arm off spin |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Test Debut | 22 March 2013 v Australia |
| ODI Debut | 3 September 2011 v England |
| T20I Debut | 31 August 2011 v England |
| IPL Team | CSK (2024) |
| Wife | Radhika Dhopavkar |
| Children | One daughter, One Son |
Early Days
Image Source- NDTV SportsAjinkya Rahane was born to Madhukar Baburao Rahane and Sujata Rahane on 6th June 1988 in Ashwini village of Ahmednagar. He has a younger brother and sister, Shashank and Apurva.
Rahane did his schooling at SV Joshi High School in Dombivali, situated on the outskirts of Mumbai. He had an interest in cricket from a very young age, and at the age of 17, he started coaching at a small club in Dombivali. After some years, Ajinkya got the opportunity to train under former Indian batsman Pravin Amre.
AjinkyaRahane Wife
Image Source- Bollywood ShaadisAjinkya Rahane married his childhood friend Radhika Dhopavkar on 26 September 2014. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Aarya, in October 2019. On October 5, 2022, their second child, a boy, was born.
Domestic Career
Image Source : Getty ImagesAjinkya Rahane performed well when India U-19 toured New Zealand in early 2007, with two centuries. He impressed the selectors and they picked him for the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in Pakistan. Rahane made his first-class debut at the age of 19 for Mumbai against Karachi Urban in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in September 2007, at Karachi.
Opening the innings with Sahil Kukreja, he scored a century on debut, 143 (207). Rahane was subsequently picked for the Irani Trophy match against the Rest of India.
He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in the 2007-08 season, making an impression for West Zone in the 2007-08 Duleep Trophy. He scored 172 against England Lions. With a contribution of 1089 runs in his second Ranji season, he was crucial in Mumbai's 38th title win.
Later, the right-hander scored three centuries in each of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons of the Ranji Trophy. His first-class top score of 265 not out against Hyderabad. The Mumbaikar surpassed 1000 runs in three separate seasons. Rahane scored 52 in the 2011 Irani Trophy match against Rajasthan that got him selected for India's Test squad.
He was named as the captain of India C’s squad for the 2018-19 Deodhar Trophy in October 2
018. Ajinkya Rahane led the team to the final and scored 144* in the final to win the title. In April 2019, he joined Hampshire as their overseas player for two months of the season.
International Career
Image Source- RediffRahane made his debut in Test cricket on 22 March 2013 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi, but he wasn’t able to score big runs. Despite his failure in the debut match, Rahane was included in the playing eleven for the first match of India’s tour of South Africa (2013-14).
Batting in the lower-middle order, he made 209 runs at an average of 69.66 in the series, including a 96 off 157 balls at Kingsmead, Durban against the bowling attack comprising Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Vernon Philander.
In England, 2014, he scored his second century at the second Test match at Lord’s Cricket Ground and got his name put up on the prestigious Lord's honours board, which even the greats Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara haven’t achieved.
At Delhi in 2015 against South Africa, Rahane made centuries in both innings on a pitch where most batsmen found it difficult to score, and with this feat, he became only the fifth Indian to join the elite club of twin centurions in a single test.
He has been overlooked in the limited-overs format by the Indian team. However, he was India’s first-choice middle-order batsman for the ICC World Cup in 2015, held in Australia and New Zealand. His quick-fire 79 against South Africa is etched in one’s memory. He was also a part of the Indian team that made it to the final of the 2014 World T20.
In November 2021, Rahane was appointed as the captain of the Indian team for the first Test against New Zealand, as Kohli had been rested. In the India tour of South Africa 2021-22, Rahane finished the series with 136 runs, with only one fifty in it.
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Ajinkya Rahane in Indian Premier League (IPL)
Image Source- News18People say Ajinkya Rahane isn’t a T20 batsman, but he has time and again proved his critics wrong. He has learnt the trait of consistency from his guide, the great Rahul Dravid. Rahane played for Mumbai Indians, Pune Supergiants, CSK, Rajasthan Royals, KKR, and Delhi Capitals.
In the IPL 2023 auction, Ajinkya Rahane was sold to the Chennai Super Kings for the base price of Rs 50 lakh, and he is retained by CSK with the same base price in IPL 2024.
He has played 172 games and scored 4400 runs at an average of 30.99 and a strike rate of 123. He has also hit two centuries, along with 30 half-centuries.
In the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Ajinkya Rahane took on the role of captain for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), marking his second stint with the franchise.KKR acquired Rahane for ₹1.5 crore in the 2025 auction, entrusting him with leadership responsibilities following Shreyas Iyer’s move to the Punjab Kings.
Rahane emerged as KKR’s leading run-scorer in IPL 2025, amassing 390 runs across 13 matches at an average of 35.45 and a strike rate of 147.73.His contributions included three half-centuries, with a top score of 61 runs . Notably, he achieved a brisk 61 off 35 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, showcasing his adaptability and experience in the T20 format .
Ajinkya Rahane Career Stats
- Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 85 | 144 | 12 | 5077 | 188 | 38.46 | 10256 | 49.50 | 12 | 26 | 578 | 35 | 102 | 0 |
| ODIs | 90 | 87 | 3 | 2962 | 111 | 35.26 | 3767 | 78.63 | 3 | 24 | 293 | 33 | 48 | 0 |
| T20Is | 20 | 20 | 2 | 375 | 61 | 20.83 | 331 | 113.29 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 16 | 0 |
| FC | 186 | 315 | 29 | 13126 | 265* | 45.89 | 24546 | 53.47 | 39 | 56 | 1583 | 94 | 196 | 0 |
| List A | 182 | 177 | 14 | 6475 | 187 | 39.72 | – | – | 10 | 45 | – | – | 87 | 0 |
| T20s | 249 | 235 | 24 | 6141 | 105* | 29.10 | 5050 | 121.60 | 2 | 43 | 624 | 134 | 108 | 0 |
- Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 85 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| ODIs | 90 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20Is | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 186 | 9 | 108 | 75 | 0 | – | – | – | 4.16 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 182 | 2 | 42 | 43 | 3 | 2/36 | 2/36 | 14.33 | 6.14 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20s | 249 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ajinkya Rahane IPL Stats
- Batting & Fielding Stats
| Year | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 198 | 18 | 5032 | 105* | 30.50 | 4025 | 125.02 | 2 | 33 | 514 | 123 | 76 | 0 |
| 2025 | 13 | 1 | 390 | 61 | 35.45 | 264 | 147.73 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 20 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | 242 | 45 | 20.17 | 196 | 123.47 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 1 | 326 | 71* | 32.60 | 189 | 172.49 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| 2022 | 7 | 0 | 133 | 44 | 19.00 | 128 | 103.91 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8.00 | 8 | 100.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 9 | 0 | 113 | 60 | 14.12 | 107 | 105.60 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 1 | 393 | 105* | 32.75 | 285 | 137.89 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1 | 370 | 65* | 28.46 | 313 | 118.21 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017 | 16 | 1 | 382 | 60 | 25.46 | 323 | 118.26 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 14 | 3 | 480 | 74 | 43.63 | 379 | 126.64 | 0 | 6 | 54 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 2015 | 14 | 2 | 540 | 91* | 49.09 | 413 | 130.75 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | 339 | 72 | 28.25 | 291 | 116.49 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | 18 | 4 | 488 | 68* | 34.85 | 458 | 106.55 | 0 | 4 | 42 | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| 2012 | 16 | 2 | 560 | 103* | 40.00 | 433 | 129.33 | 1 | 3 | 73 | 10 | 11 | 0 |
| 2011 | 10 | 1 | 120 | 52 | 20.00 | 98 | 122.44 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 1 | 144 | 62* | 24.00 | 123 | 117.07 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2.00 | 17 | 23.52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Awards and Achievements
- 5th Indian Batsman to score centuries in each innings of a Test.
- On 15 August 2015, he broke the record of most catches in a test match. He took 8 catches in the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle.
- First batsman to hit six fours in an over in IPL (against S Arvind, RCB)
- Joint record with other players for the highest number of catches in a T20 match
- MA Chidambaram Trophy for best under-19 cricketer: 2006-07
- CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year: 2014-15
- Arjuna Award
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FAQ’s
Where is Ajinkya Rahane from?Ajinkya Rahane was born on 6 June 1988 in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra in a Hindu Maratha family.
How old is Ajinkya Rahane?Ajinkya Rahane was born on 6 June 1988 and is 35 years old.
Who is wife of Ajinkya Rahane?Ajinkya Rahane married his childhood friend Radhika Dhopavkar on 26 September 2014. The couple has two children.
Is Ajinkya Rahane playing in IPL 2025?In the IPL 2025 season, Ajinkya Rahane returned to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and was appointed as the team’s captain.