Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has given up the captaincy of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, saying he believes “it’s the right time to groom a new leader”.
In a communication to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Rahane said he wants to continue as a player for the team. Later, he took to social media to announce his decision. “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,” he wrote on social media.
The 37-year-old, however, made it clear that he has no plans of retiring and will remain committed to serve the Mumbai team in all formats as a batter. “I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with @MumbaiCricAssoc to help us win more trophies. Looking forward to the season,” he added.
Under Rahane’s leadership, Mumbai won a record 42nd Ranji Trophy title in the 2023-24 season, ending a nine-year drought for the championship and made it to the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy last season, where they lost to Vidharbha by 90 runs.
Under his leadership, Mumbai also won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season, where he was the tournament’s highest run-scorer and clinched the Irani Trophy in 2024-25.
Rahane is second in the list of all-time run-scorers for Mumbai in first-class with 5932 runs in 76 matches at an average of 52 between 2007 to 2025, only behind former India opener Wasim Jaffer (8,178 runs from 1997-2015). He has also scored 19 centuries for Mumbai in first-class cricket, second only to Jaffer’s 29.
In his domestic career Rahane has so far played 201 first-class matches, 192 List A matches, and 284 T20 matches. During this time, he has scored 14,000 runs in 340 first-class innings at an average of 45.16, 6,853 runs in 187 List A innings at an average of 39.84, and 7,242 runs in 267 T20 innings at an average of 29.92.
Mumbai are currently preparing for the upcoming season by playing the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Chennai, with a young squad led by 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre. Mumbai allrounder Shardul Thakur, a key member of their 2024-25 Ranji campaign, was named captain of West Zone for the season-opening Duleep Trophy.
Possible successors
Rahane’s decision to step down has opened up the captaincy race in Mumbai cricket, with several strong contenders in the mix. The squad features experienced names like Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shardul Thakur, alongside promising talents such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan, ensuring no shortage of leadership options.
Of these, Iyer, Surya, and Thakur bring proven captaincy credentials, with Iyer having led three IPL franchises, while Surya is India’s current T20I skipper. Given Jaiswal’s increasing involvement in Test cricket, the selectors may prefer a leader who is consistently available through the season. With both Iyer and Surya not currently part of India’s Test plans, the scales could tilt in favour of one of them to take over from Rahane.