Ajinkya Rahane decides not to continue in massive career announcement: ‘I believe it’s the right time to…’

Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane decided to quit as the captain of Mumbai in domestic cricket on Thursday. Rahane took to social media to announce his decision to step down from the leadership role in Mumbai Cricket. He said the decision was taken because he felt it was the right time to groom a new leader. Ajinkya Rahane quits as Mumbai captain(AFP)

"Captaining and winning championships with the Mumbai team has been an absolute honour. With a new domestic season ahead, I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader, and hence I’ve decided not to continue in the captaincy role," Rahane wrote on X.

The 37-year-old, however, made it clear that he has no plans of calling it quits and will remain committed to serve the Mumbai team in all formats as a batter. "I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with Mumbai to help us win more trophies. Looking forward to the season," he added.

Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season where Rahane was the tournament's highest run-scorer. Under Rahane's leadership, Mumbai also made it to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy, where they lost to Vidharbha by 90 runs.

Rahane is second in the list of all-time run-scorers for Mumbai in first-class behind former India opener Wasim Jaffer. The right-hander has scored 5932 runs in 76 matches at an average of 52. He has also scored 19 centuries for Mumbai in first-class cricket, second only to Jaffer's 29.

Will KKR sack Rahane as captain?

Rahane, 37, last played competitive cricket during the IPL 2025, scoring 390 runs from 13 matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders. As Rahane has now decided to quit as Mumbai captain, it will be interesting to see whether KKR decide to change their captain ahead of next season.

There were reports of KKR looking to trade in big names like KL Rahul and Sanju Samson, who can take over the leadership role if required. KKR finished sixth this year after winning the title last season under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy.

Who will be Mumbai's next captain after Ajinkya Rahane?

Mumbai don't have any shortage of leaders in its squad. They have established cricketers like Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan in their arsenal. Apart from Jaiswal and Sarfaraz, all others have boast of an impressive captaincy record. Iyer has led three IPL franchises, while Suyra is the current T20I captain of India. Considering Jaiswal's involvement in Test cricket, the Mumbai selectors might be keen on appointing a captain who is available for most of the season. Neither Iyer nor Surya is in consideration for Test cricket at the moment, making them an ideal fit to take Mumbai cricket forward after Rahane's departure.

Iyer appears to be the frontrunner as he led Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title last year.

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