Ajinkya Rahane‘s innings as a player with Indian and Mumbai cricket came to an end recently. The veteran was one of India’s most trusted performers. “His calm presence, resilience and ability to deliver in the toughest situations earned him the respect of teammates, opponents and cricket lovers alike,” the BCCI stated after his retirement. While he played for India for a long time, he also led Mumbai with pride for many years. One of the most iconic moments of his domestic career as captain came during the Duleep Trophy final between West Zone and South Zone in 2022.
West Zone captain Ajinkya Rahane sent a young Yashasvi Jaiswal off the field due to disciplinary issues. The entire episode unfolded as Jaiswal was repeatedly sledging South Zone batter T Ravi Teja. Both players kept exchanging words, and finally the umpires decided to have a word with Rahane. During the 50th over of the final innings, Jaiswal and Ravi Teja engaged in a verbal exchange.
Rahane quickly stepped in to pacify the situation. The experienced player was seen having a word with Jaiswal. However, Jaiswal continued to exchange words with Teja, and Rahane then decided to send him off the field. Jaiswal was seen murmuring something to himself as he walked away.
“Sledging happens in the game, and it should happen. It adds a bit of fun,” he said in an interview with The Indian Express. “I read the situation. I sensed at that point in time that it probably would have gone out of hand. Yes, at that point Yashasvi must have felt bad. But I sensed what could happen going ahead. I have seen many situations where players have been banned, and you never know how times change. You lose one opportunity and your time is up. You never know. I sensed the situation and realised it was going out of hand. Both the players were losing control. And it was my responsibility to stop my teammate.”
Ajinkya Rahane sends Yashasvi Jaiswal off the field after consistently sledging the batsman…
Good to see Jaiswal back in the field, after knowing his mistake, good from Captain Rahane.#rahane #Cricket #Trending pic.twitter.com/GvnIgBpaZW
— Ankit | AI , Tech & News (@Ankityadav_360) September 25, 2022
Rahane then revealed what match referee Vengalil Narayanan Kutty told him after the incident.
“The match referee did not expect that. They didn’t realise I would do such a thing. The match referee was ready with a four-match ban. The letter was written. He came up to me and said, ‘This is the letter, but because you did this, I’m tearing it up.’ He tore the letter up in front of me. In the end, I was happy that Jaiswal didn’t get a match ban, and now he’s playing for India. What could have happened? Maybe he wouldn’t have played after that, or maybe not. He’s a quality player. I’m not taking any credit away from him. But you never know,” he said.