Be it his calm demeanor, his drives through the off-side, or nonchalantly timed sixes, almost everything seems easy-going, composed, and beautiful about India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. Thus, the last thing one would have expected from Rahane is to have his tongue out accompanied with some unusual facial expressions to sledge Australian cricketers during India’s tour of Australia 2015.
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However, fate and karma have their own ways of operating and surprising people which the Mumbai batter soon realized in the form of an non-consensual kiss by a passionate Sri Lankan fan. Not that Rahane had expressed any displeasure post the kiss, but it was nonetheless nothing less than embarrassing having received it in front of his teammates.
Ajinkya Rahane Was Kissed By A Very Affectionate Percy Uncle
During an interaction with popular YouTuber Vikram Sathaye in 2017, India captain Rohit Sharma had revealed how he and his teammates had placed Rahane in a challenging off-the-field situation during a Test of their tour of Sri Lanka in 2015.
Percy Abeysekara, a huge Sri Lanka cricket fan who has been supporting his team from the stadiums since 1982, had his unmissable attendance during the above mentioned tour as well. However, his unusual kink to kiss the people he admired had meant that Rahane was to be made the scapegoat!
“He knows the entire history of India and about all the records of old players, everything. Also, he likes to kiss! I don’t why, but he likes to kiss. So, we pushed Ajinkya Rahane forward. We told him that Percy uncle wants to hug you as he has always expressed his desire to meet you. Percy uncle came, and he kissed Ajinkya on his cheek. Also, someone made the video and posted it on social media, which became viral.”
The above incident, as mentioned by Rohit, had taken place during the day’s lunch break of one of the Tests. While it cannot be confirmed when the same had taken place, both him and Rahane had played each of the three Tests on the tour.
As for Percy Abeysekara, his day was made when Rohit had visited his home in Ekala during Asia Cup 2023 last month. Percy, 87, couldn’t witness the tournament as he was ill and placed on a liquid diet. A few days later, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Mohan De Silva had also arrived at his residence to present him a cheque of Rs. 13 lakh as financial aid to support his well being and maintenance of good health.
Ajinkya Rahane Had Sledged The Aussies By Sticking His Tongue Out
The supposedly soft-spoken persona that Rahane possesses, one would not associated him to take on or sledge the Aussies akin a Virat Kohli or a Gautam Gambhir. Thus, the best one would expect from him is to let his bat do the talking. Or maybe, have his tongue do them some gestural damage!
During an interaction with Gaurav Kapur on his popular chat show named Breakfast With Champions in 2019, Rohit had revealed how the gentleman in Rahane had very little options of sledging the Aussies but to stick his tongue out at one of them during India’s tour of Australia in 2015.
“A few players were sledging him in Australia. One of them told him to play some shots and stuff. Then Ajju [Ajinkya Rahane] went like [makes a weird face with his tongue out]. He [Australian player] must have thought, ‘Who is this guy! What is he doing?'”
Rahane and Rohit had together played three of four Tests during the tour that year. It yet again cannot be confirmed during which of these matches the aforementioned incident had taken place.
