India, July 30 -- "Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending. Sing to me of the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course."

On the day India's 278th Test cap called time on his long international career, the opening lines of The Odyssey-across centuries of translations-inevitably brought Ajinkya Rahane to mind.

The Mumbaikar was a man of many faces, a cricketer of many flourishes and more than one peak. A classy batsman of orthodox technique and unorthodox grit. He looked adversity in the eye, gritted his teeth, and got straight back to work.

Resilient and determined, a perfectionist and a quiet, understated leader-that was Rahane. A man at his most dangerous when corne...