New Delhi. For years, cricket fans have witnessed the era of the Fab Four batsmen and the world admired them, the Fab Four i.e. those four batsmen who stood out in their respective decades. If we talk about the Fab-Four in Indian cricket, the names of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid come to mind. After these four, the modern Fab Four of Indian cricket i.e. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane took charge and took Indian cricket to greater heights.
The announcement of Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement is not just the departure of a player from the field, but it is the complete end of the chapter of the ‘Modern Fab Four’ of Indian cricket, which had established India’s dominance in world cricket. When a huge void was created in the Indian batting line-up after the departure of the first Fab Four led by Sachin, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane together took charge. Today, with the departure of Rahane, the journey of that great quartet has officially come to an end, which took Indian cricket to the pinnacle of heights.
Emotions were associated with the Fab Four
It is not just about the end of statistics, it is the end of an emotion. Whenever the Indian team was in trouble on foreign pitches, these four faces appearing on the TV screen used to encourage crores of Indians. Virat’s aggressive attitude, Rohit’s velvety timing, Pujara’s rocky wall and Rahane’s calm but very effective batting in times of crisis, this was the identity of Indian Test cricket of the last decade. Now that these four have moved away from this format, there is a deep pang and a flood of old memories rising in the hearts of cricket fans.
Fab four hoisted the flag in the world
Together, these four greats taught India to win on foreign soil in Test cricket. While Virat Kohli gave the team that aggression which the opposing teams were afraid of, Rohit Sharma changed the definition of Test cricket by coming into the opening. Cheteshwar Pujara tired the world’s most dangerous bowlers by setting his feet on the crease like Angad, while Ajinkya Rahane performed historic feats with his captaincy and batting which became immortal in the pages of history. How can anyone forget that Australia tour of the year 2020-21, when regular captain Virat returned home after being all out for 36 runs in Adelaide. Rahane took over the captaincy in that very difficult time, scored a captaincy century in Melbourne and broke the pride of the Gabba with a broken young Indian team and won the series.
The era ended with Crisis Man
Rahane’s departure is also emotional because he was always a ‘crisis man’. He never cared for limelight. Whenever the team got into trouble, this calm natured player stepped forward and took the responsibility. Be it his century on the green grass of Lord’s or Melbourne’s historic win, Rahane always put the country before himself. Today, when this last fort of the Modern Fab Four has also collapsed, Indian Test cricket has entered a new phase. Youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant are now taking this legacy forward. But the truth is that the comfort, the trust and the class that one felt watching the quartet of Virat, Rohit, Pujara and Rahane will always be missed. Fans will never be able to forget this golden era of Indian cricket. Thank you Ajinkya Rahane, and thank you to this great quartet who taught us to live like kings in Test cricket.
