Ajinkya Rahane, born on June 6, 1988, is an Indian cricketer who has captained the Indian Test team and served as vice-captain. He has played in all formats as a batsman. Currently, he leads the Mumbai team in the Ranji Trophy and plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. Rahane mainly bats in the middle order in Tests and the top order in limited-overs games. India has only lost one match under his captaincy.

Rahane started his first-class career in the 2007–08 Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and made his international debut in a T20 match against England in August 2011. He played his first Test in the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and scored his first century in Wellington against New Zealand. Notably, he captained India to a series victory in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. As of May 2021, he ranked 27th in the ICC Test batting rankings with 612 points. In March 2022, he received a Grade B contract from the BCCI. Rahane is considered one of India’s top overseas players, with over 3000 runs at an average above 40 in away matches.