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Ajinkya Rahane awarded Honorary membership of CCI

Ajinkya Rahane has been in excellent form with the bat of late.

Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant ton batting at No against Sri Lanka recently © AFP
Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant ton batting at No against Sri Lanka recently © AFP

India batsman Ajinkya Rahane has been awarded with the the Honorary membership of the Cricket Club of India (CCI). It is considered a prestigious honour, which is bestowed to outstanding cricketers. Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting are among the greats, who have been given this award. Rahane took to social media to express his happiness. He wrote, “Thank you #CCI for Honorary Life Membership. I’m really humbled. It’s a proud moment for me.” Rahane has been one of India’s most dependable players of late and had a successful tour of Sri Lanka, where India won the series in for the first time in Sri Lanka after  years. READ: Ajinkya Rahane donates Rs. 5 lakhs for drought relief in Maharashtra

Rahane and his wife were given membership cards for utilising all facilities of the club by CCI President Kekoo Nicholson at a brief ceremony at the 82-year-old private institution’s premises in South Mumbai this evening. “I wished to become a member of this club ever since I attended a coaching camp here. When I had entered the club for the first time I experienced a very positive vibe. This is the place where India attained the no. 1 Test ranking (during a Test against Sri Lanka in 2010-11). I am really humbled,” said the Mumbai-born Rahane.

Ajinkya Rahane made his international debut against England in . Since then he has gone on to make centuries in New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the most memorable one at Lord’s, where he scored 103. Rahane’s batting position has been juggled of late. He usually bats at No.5 but batted at No.3 at a couple of occasions against Sri Lanka. Rahane was recently drooped from the ODI team in a series against Bangladesh with the reason being his slow pace of getting runs. READ: Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane have similar batting techniques: Steve Waugh

On Sunday, CCI is conferring an honorary life membership on India’s top woman tennis professional Sania Mirza after her recent win of the US women’s doubles title with “Swiss Miss” Martina Hingis. “We have invited [Pakistan cricketer] Shoiab Malik [Saina’s husband] for the function,” said a CCI member. Rahane also captained a second-string Indian side on their tour to Zimbabwe. India won the ODI series 3-0 and drew the T0 International series at 1-1.

(With inputs from PTI)

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