Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has said he is quitting as the captain of Mumbai in domestic cricket. Taking to social media, Rahane said that he believed it was the right time to develop a new leader in the team. His retirement brings in a shift in the era of Mumbai cricket.
Grooming the Next Leader
“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 announcement is following a very successful term as the leader of Mumbai.
Rahane, 37, made it clear that he does not plan to retire and will continue to play cricket as a batter in all formats and serve Mumbai. “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 under the captaincy of Rahane last season, and the former is the leading run-scorer in the tournament. The side also reached semi finals of the Ranji Trophy where it lost to Vidarbha by 90 runs.
Rahane’s Legacy with Mumbai
Rahane is the second-highest run-scorer in the first-class cricket of Mumbai after former India opener Wasim Jaffer. The right hand bat has scored 5932 runs in 76 games with an average of 52 with 19 centuries. His experience and consistency is reflected in his record as he joined Mumbai.
Rahane has relinquished leadership but his presence is critical to Mumbai. His leadership and play should also serve as an example to the younger players as the team undergoes a change in their captain. Their search of his successor is already the subject of debate among selectors and cricket pundits.
Future at KKR
Rahane last played competitive cricket in IPL 2025 in which he scored 390 runs in 13 matches playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). As KKR also considers the possibility of making a change in leadership before the season, with his announcement of quitting the captaincy of Mumbai, there is a speculation that KKR also will consider doing the same.
It has also been reported that KKR may look at selling some of its more experienced players such as KL Rahul or Sanju Samson who can take over the captaincy should the need arise. The franchise has found itself in the sixth position in this season having won the title the previous year under Shreyas Iyer, which also gives context to any possible leadership decisions.
Mumbai’s Next Captain
Mumbai has a lot of leadership options and they include Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sarfaraz Khan. As Jaiswal is restrained with Test commitments, the other senior players have shown good skills of captaincy. Iyer has been the skipper of three IPL teams, and Surya is the present captain of India in T20Is.
Taking into account the availability of players, the Mumbai selectors might want a captain who can feature in most of the matches in the domestic season. Having taken Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 the previous year, Hreyas Iyer appears to be the front runner. His experience and track record makes him the most probable replacement to Rahane as a captain.
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah’s Epic Net Session Battle: Watch the Video
