Ajinkya Rahane IPL Profile

Ajinkya Rahane, popularly known as ""Jinks"" amongst his teammates, is an Indian cricketer who also plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket and Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier League. Rahane primarily bats in the middle order in Test cricket and at the top of the order in white-ball formats. The Mumbai batsman has developed a distinct personality for himself with his rock-stolid technique and cool, composed nature. Over the years, with his sublime skillset, he has played key roles in some of Test cricket's most important triumphs, including in Australia, England, and Sri Lanka. 

Born to middle-class parents Rahane's passion for cricket was fully supported by his family from the beginning. Due to a lack of resources, he had his initiation on a matted wicket in Dombivali and only started to train with Pravin Amre at the age of 17. But he slowly made progress through the ranks. 

At the age of 19, he made his first-class debut for Mumbai against Karachi Urban in September 2007. He was called for the Irani Trophy match against the rest of India after scoring 143 in his maiden game. In the 2007–2008 season, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai. He scored more than a thousand runs in the second season, which helped Mumbai clinch their Ranji title.

He went on to add runs in domestic cricket which earned him a spot in the India ODI team for the 2011 tour of England. Rahane made his debut in Delhi in the Border Gavaskar trophy against Australia in March 2013 after spending months on the sidelines and traveling with the Test team. Rahane, in just his third Test, hit fifty in each of his two innings in Durban before recording his first Test century against New Zealand in Wellington in 2014. In another notable innings, on a seaming track at Lord's, he set the stage for India's first Lord's triumph in 28 years with a cool-headed 103. 

Rahane's IPL career however has been pretty diverse so far. He started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2011 a rookie uncapped player at that point and not many opportunities arrived his way. However, his shift to Rajasthan Royals in 2012 changed his fortune. He amassed over 550 runs at a healthy strike rate in 2012 and since then has been a big source of runs for every franchise he has played for. 

Rahane so far has played for six IPL sides, with the likes of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders. Ahead of the IPL 2023, Chennai Super Kings signed him for his base price Rs 50 lakh.