Ajinkya Rahane Takes Break from Cricket as he Pulls Out of County Stint with Leicestershire

Ajinkya Rahane will no longer be flying to England to link up with Leicestershire county cricket club for their one-day campaign after deciding to take a break from cricket. Rahane was to represent the county club in England’s domestic One Day Cup competition.

The India batting star was to join them in June which was pushed back after he was called up for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. He was then also included for the two-match Test series against West Indies and was named as the vice-captain.

Leicestershire say that Rahane will be stepping away from cricket following the unexpected hectic schedule.

“Firstly, we are fully understanding of Ajinkya’s situation. He has experienced a hectic schedule in recent months, both in India and travelling with the national team, and we accept his wishes to recover and spend some time with his family,” Leicestershire Director of Cricket Claude Henderson said in a statement.

“We have been in constant communication with Ajinkya and accept how situations can change quickly in cricket. He is extremely grateful for our understanding and still hopes to play for Leicestershire one day,” he added.

Australian Peter Handscomb will replace Rahane for the competition thus extending his stay with the club whom he also represented in the Division Two of the County Championship.

“Thankfully, we had planned for a situation like this, and we are delighted Peter is staying on with the team. He brings many qualities alongside his batting and wicketkeeping, including strong leadership, which is a massive help to Lewis (Hill) and the rest of the guys in our changing room,” Henderson said.

The 35-year-old Rahane was dropped from the India Test squad following the South Africa tour last year before making a comeback thanks to impressive performances in the 2023-23 Ranji Trophy and in IPL 2023 for Chennai Super Kings.