Former captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said that Rahane has come of age.
Check out the statistical highlights on Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand.
Rajneesh Gupta has some interesting numbers from the fourth day's play in the final Test between India and South Africa at Ferozshah Kotla in New Delhi.
Railways caused the biggest upset in this Ranji Trophy season so far, after they defeated domestic giants Mumbai by 10 wickets within three days in their Elite Group B match, in Mumbai, on Friday. Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan (5-60) took five wickets, as Mumbai were bundled out for 198 in their second essay at the Wankhede Stadium, after India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane failed miserably in the second innings as well.
Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane flopped with the bat as defending champions Mumbai were shocked by Baroda by 84 runs.
Rohit, who didn't make it to the playing XI in the two-Test series in the West Indies, could be given another opportunity to revive his Test career, with the selectors looking towards him opening the innings.
The national selectors want all the players to be available for the Duleep Trophy ahead of the two Test series against Bangladesh next month.
India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will look to set their house in order and get back to winning ways when they face an upbeat yet unpredictable Punjab Kings for the second time in a row in the IPL match in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Kohli is the leading Indian batsman in the chart with 886 rating points behind Australia's Steve Smith (911 points).
The three-day practice game will give a chance for the players who are already in the West Indies to shift from limited overs to the five-day format.
Promising India batsman Ajinkya Rahane is disappointed to miss out a hundred by a whisker but has said his match winning 98-run knock which helped Rajasthan Royals to notch up a 31-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in IPL V was very satisfying.
Ajinkya Rahane rallied India with a gutsy, unbeaten 89 as India's much-vaunted top-order failed yet again on the opening day of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Thursday.
No one in his right senses will expect Ajinkya Rahane to bat like Sachin Tendulkar or make thousands of runs and own a plethora of records. But the right-hander guarantees to carry forward the rich legacy of the fabled Mumbai school of batting.
Ajinkya Rahane scored his seventh Test hundred to help India take a huge first innings lead before rain forced play to be called off early on day three of the second Test against the West Indies, in Jamaica, on Monday.
"Definitely, we all do believe that we have the team that can do well in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England. It is important to start well. The preparations part will be really important as it will provide us with the momentum," Rahane said at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai.
Kane Williamson has shown that classically elegant batsmen, too, could prosper big time in the slam-bang world of Indian Premier League cricket and former Australia batsman Dean Jones wants the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir, who have struggled in this year's IPL, to take cues from the New Zealand captain.
Shreyas Iyer would be aiming to revive his start-stop international career, while Ishan Kishan would aim to clear the popular perception about his allegedly 'misplaced priorities'.
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has said that Ajinkya Rahane reminded him a bit of Sachin Tendulkar and his "compact technique" would fetch him a lot of runs for India.
CSK have a man behind stumps telling them what's working: Hardik Pandya pats MS Dhoni
Former India cricketers tell Harish Kotian that Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane has the required qualities to be a top opener, even overseas.
Despite being named in India's squad way back in November 2011, Ajinkya Rahane is still to play a Test. Harish Kotian is as clueless as him why he hasn't made his debut yet.
Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane smashed twin half centuries as India crushed New Zealand by seven wickets in their second match of the Emerging Players 40-over tournament in Brisbane.
Short of match practice, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashish Nehra and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at CCI, Mumbai next week. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up here on January 10. Rahane, who is coming back from an injury, will captain the team in the second warm-up on January 12.
India captain Virat Kohli has defended the selection of Rohit Sharma in the first Test.
India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that talented Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is one player who has improved by leaps and bounds in recent times and is ready to don any hat for the team's cause.
India coach Ravi Shastri on Monday defended the team management's decision to leave out Ajinkya Rahane from the first two Tests in South Africa, saying Rohit Sharma was the best option going by form.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
He has been a calming influence for India in the opening slot, the proof of which was visible during his half-century knock in the fourth ODI against West Indies here, but consistency is something Ajinkya Rahane is striving for to cement his place in the national team.
Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock hit fifties as LSG trounced CSK by eight wickets.
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against an Indian side missing their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli through injury in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Ajinkya Rahane has been a conspicuous absentee from the ongoing Indian runfest against Sri Lanka but the middle order batsman appears to have the backing of the team management ahead of the tour of South Africa later this month.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane joined the bandwagon of Indian players, who have attributed Team Director Ravi Shastri for bringing about a turnaround in team's fortunes with his technical inputs in the ongoing ODI series after their dismal show in the Test matches.
A defiant Ajinkya Rahane hit a superb 103 to pull India out of trouble after a mid-innings collapse on a lively track at Lord's, as the visitors ended the first day's play on a respectable 290 for nine on Day 1 of the second Test in London.
'It's a historic moment for them and an opportunity for us to be part of the occasion'
Delighted to be on Lord's roll-of-honour after a gritty hundred on the opening day of the second Test, Ajinkya Rahane revealed that he was a little nervous before his first Test at the celebrated ground.
Ajinkya Rahane continued his sparkling form as he struck a 54-ball unbeaten 91 to help Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs and bounce back from a five-match winless streak in the IPL.
The talent is in plenty in this squad and if this machine runs smoothly, a sixth IPL trophy will be at touching distance for Thala and Co.
Yet to get a game in the tournament, Rahane could find himself playing at his home ground in Mumbai if Yuvraj doesn't recover fully in time for the last-four game on March 31.
India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is confident that senior spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be able to change their style of bowling that suits South African pitches during their upcoming tour, starting on January 5.
