Ajinkya Rahane, who brought the curtain on a glorious decade-long career in international cricket on July 30, has finally revealed Sachin Tendulkar’s reaction to his retirement call. The 38-year-old stated that the Master Blaster reached out to him via a phone call shortly after he bid adieu to international cricket, telling him that he expected Rahane to carry on a bit longer. However, Rahane told the legendary batter that he didn’t want to drag on.
Rahane also stated that he received messages from the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Rahane’s career spanned 85 Tests, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is. He will always be known as a batter who gave it his all when the odds were stacked against the team and will be remembered for leading India to a famous Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in 2020-21 when the side was plagued with several injuries.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Rahane stated that Tendulkar was the first to reach out to him after he announced his retirement. The former Indian batter said he told everyone he was satisfied with his career and could sleep well.
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“The first call came from Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji, who said he thought I would play for longer. I told him I didn’t want to drag on because I was retiring without any regrets. Irfan Pathan also called, while Pujara, Virat, Rohit and Bumrah all messaged me. I told everyone the same thing: I was satisfied because I had given everything to the game,” Rahane told the Indian Express.
‘Cried a lot’
Rahane posted a video on his social media, announcing his retirement. In the clip, the batter was seen emotional and found it tough to control his tears. Speaking to the Express, Rahane revealed that he broke down after recording the video and was an emotional mess.
“After recording the video, I cried a lot. I was emotional while discussing retirement with my family, but I didn’t expect the recording itself to affect me so much. The reality hit that I would no longer do something I had loved for years. That thought stayed with me throughout the recording,” said Rahane.
The batter might have retired from international cricket and IPL, but he will soon be seen in action as he will play for Steve Waugh’s Amsterdam Flames in the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
In his international career, Rahane scored more than 8,000 runs, and his last appearance for India came in 2023 against the West Indies in Port of Spain.