Ajinkya was incredible in our team’s 2021 bounceback at Brisbane: Shardul

Shardul Thakur (left) with Rahane

India pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur hailed former Mumbai and India captain Ajinkya Rahane for his character and commitment, saying he will miss his 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy-winning captain on the field.

Rahane, 38, who scored 5077 runs in 85 Tests, besides playing 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is, announced his retirement on Thursday.

Thakur, who played a crucial role in helping skipper Rahane beat Australia in the 2020-21 series, claiming a match haul of seven wickets and scoring 67 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test at Brisbane, credited Rahane for helping Team India bounce back on a tough tour Down Under. "We had that unfortunate game [first Test at Adelaide in December 2020] to start with, where we were 36 all out and lost badly [by eight wickets]. But the way we bounced back and the way Ajinkya handled things was incredible. That was a massive series [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and a different kind of challenge, where we were one game down with three to go," Thakur, who has claimed 131 scalps in 85 international games so far, told mid-day on Thursday.

"I feel Ajinkya stepping into Virat Kohli's shoes [then skipper Kohli missed the last due to paternity leave] was massive because Virat is a giant and led Indian Test cricket from the front. He was literally carrying the Test team on his own and had brought in a lot of changes. He brought in that attitude of going on overseas tours and winning. So, when he was away, Ajinkya had to step in for the rest of the series," said Thakur, 34, adding that Rahane deserved a chance to play 100 Tests.

"I will miss Ajinkya on the field because his commitment towards the game every team he played for was immense. I see a lot of youngsters coming in, especially in Mumbai, and for them, Ajinkya could be a wonderful role model to watch and follow. He deserved the 100-Test mark because players who've played over 80-85 games have earned it. It's unfortunate he didn't get to this 100," Thakur signed off.