Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement brings to a close the era of batsmanship that brought India some of its finest moments in Test cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and now Rahane. What a batting line-up it was and what delightful moments they gave us cricket lovers. It was as special as those that preceded them — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Always respectful 

I remember being introduced to a young Ajinkya Rahane by Milind Rege when we were in the line to greet a newly wedded couple at their reception. I was immediately struck by the respectful way he first greeted Milind. Milind had been raving about Rahane and Rohit Sharma as the future of not just Mumbai’s batting but also India’s. Both have lived up to the faith my dear departed friend had in their abilities. They did it in contrasting style and in the process gave cricket lovers some memories to cherish.