Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane has revealed that Sachin Tendulkar was the first person to call him after his retirement announcement.
Rahane said Tendulkar told him he expected him to continue playing, but he chose to retire without regrets.
‘First call came from Sachin Paaji’
Late last month, the 38-year-old declared his retirement from international cricket. Rahane told The Indian Express that Tendulkar got in touch right away. Sachin Paaji made the initial call, stating that he believed I would play for a longer period of time. Rahane said, ‘I told him I didn’t want to drag on because I was retiring with no regrets.’ He also mentioned that he received messages from a number of colleagues. ‘Irfan Pathan called as well, and I received messages from Pujara, Virat, Rohit and Bumrah. I told everyone the same thing: I was happy because I had put my all into the game.’
Rahane claimed he was moved by the retiring video. ‘I sobbed a lot after making the video. While talking to my family about retirement, I was emotional, but I wasn’t prepared for the tape to have so an impact on me. It dawned on me that I would no longer be able to pursue a passion of mine for years. I kept thinking about that when I was recording.’
Career numbers and key moments
Rahane represented India in 85 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20Is. He amassed more than 8,000 runs in international cricket. In 2023, he played his final game for India in Port of Spain against the West Indies. Just before that series, he had returned for the World Test Championship final after being cut from the team. During the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, he achieved one of his greatest successes as captain. Rahane led an injury-plagued team to a 2-1 series victory for India. Since retiring, Rahane has signed with Amsterdam Flames. He will next play in the European T20 Premier League for the Dutch team.