Virat Kohli's ‘favourite Test batting partner’ retires as Tendulkar, Pujara and others salute Ajinkya Rahane

Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and others led tributes to Ajinkya Rahane after the former India captain announced his international retirement.

Ajinkya Rahane rarely demanded attention during his playing career. Even at his best, he seemed more comfortable letting a classic drive down the ground, a hundred overseas or a sharp catch at slip speak for him. On Thursday, however, as he announced his retirement from international cricket, some of the most prominent figures in Indian cricket made sure his contribution did not pass quietly.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane for India in a Test match. (Virat Kohli X)

Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravi Shastri, Virender Sehwag and several of Rahane's former India teammates led the tributes on social media, remembering not merely the runs he scored but the composure, humility and understated toughness that defined his career.

Rahane called time on an international journey that produced 8,414 runs across formats. The bulk of his legacy was built in Test cricket, where he scored 5,077 runs in 85 matches, including 12 centuries. Many of his finest performances came away from home, at a time when India's ambitions as a Test side were increasingly measured by what they could achieve outside the subcontinent. Yet one chapter inevitably towers over everything else.

When Virat Kohli returned home after the first Test of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahane inherited an India side that had just been bowled out for 36 in Adelaide. By the end of the series, an injury-ravaged team had beaten Australia 2-1 on their own soil, with Rahane's century in Melbourne becoming the innings around which one of Indian cricket's most celebrated comebacks was built.

It was little surprise that Australia featured repeatedly as his contemporaries looked back on his career.

Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar lead tributes for Ajinkya Rahane

Virat Kohli's farewell carried the intimacy of two players who had spent years alongside each other in India's Test middle order. Congratulating Rahane on a career he could be proud of, Kohli described him as “the safest pair of hands in the slips” before adding perhaps the most personal line among the many tributes: “my favourite Test batting partner”.

Tendulkar focused on the temperament that had become Rahane's signature. He wrote that Rahane had shown “composure isn't the opposite of aggression”, arguing that such calmness could itself give a team the confidence to play fearlessly. It was an observation that captured much of Rahane's career. His aggression rarely needed theatre.

Ravi Shastri, who worked closely with Rahane during India's highly successful period as a travelling Test team, called him “one of India's most committed cricketers” and remembered the service he gave both India and Mumbai.

Pujara's message was inevitably more personal. For years, Pujara and Rahane occupied neighbouring positions in India's Test batting order, often asked to absorb pressure against the world's best attacks. “Congratulations on a career you can be incredibly proud of, Ajinkya!” Pujara wrote, looking back on the partnerships, dressing rooms and memories they had shared.

Sehwag, meanwhile, called Rahane “one of the most underrated cricketers” before going straight to the achievement that has come to define his captaincy — leading India to that extraordinary series victory in Australia. “Calm, Solid,” was Sehwag's succinct description.

Irfan Pathan's tribute also returned immediately to Australia. “Congratulations @ajinkyarahane88 on your wonderful career. Thank you for some outstanding Australian memories on the cricketing field. Good luck for the future buddy.”

VVS Laxman described Rahane's leadership during the 2020-21 series as “calm, inspiring”, while also highlighting the discipline, selflessness and work ethic that characterised his career. Harbhajan Singh called him “a top-quality cricketer with a calm head”, with India's triumph in Australia again occupying a central place in his assessment of Rahane's legacy.

The messages from a younger generation carried a similar warmth.

Suryakumar Yadav addressed Rahane as “Ajju da”, saying it had been an honour to share the field and dressing room with him. He highlighted Rahane's calmness, resilience and commitment and wished him well for his second innings.

S Badrinath described him as “not just an authentic batsman, but a perfect role model too”. Yuvraj Singh called Rahane one of the finest players of his generation to represent India across formats and praised the way he handled leadership whenever responsibility came his way.

Shikhar Dhawan's message was built around shared memories — tours, dressing rooms and partnerships accumulated over years together. He recalled a man who remained composed as captain and dependable as a teammate, even while carrying a fierce desire to fight for India beneath the calm exterior.

KL Rahul congratulated “Jinx” on a remarkable career, while Mohammed Shami described Rahane's journey as one built on “class, discipline, and unwavering commitment”. Jasprit Bumrah remembered sharing the dressing room and creating memories with Rahane and singled out the “grace and humility” with which the former India vice-captain had conducted himself throughout his career.

That phrase — grace and humility — appeared in different forms across many of the farewells. There were more prolific batters in Rahane's era and certainly louder personalities. His career also had its difficult final stretch as runs became harder to find and his place in India's Test side eventually disappeared. But Thursday's tributes revealed something numbers alone cannot quite measure.

Teammates remembered the hands at slip, the partnerships under pressure, the absence of fuss and the reliability of the man beside them. Former players remembered the discipline. Coaches remembered the commitment. And almost everybody remembered Australia.

Rahane spent much of his career operating away from the centre of Indian cricket's spotlight. In retirement, the people who shared its dressing rooms with him offered perhaps the clearest measure of how highly he was regarded within them.