Two days out from the IPL 2023 auction, veteran Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane has sent out a resounding statement to all the franchises with his bat after the Mumbai captain slammed a double century against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy game.
In his 204-run knock from 261 deliveries, Ajinkya Rahane stroked 26 fours and 3 sixes.
The 34-year-old will be up for grabs at the upcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction that is slated for Friday in Kochi.
Ajinkya Rahane was released by KKR
Rahane has been released by Kolkata Knight Riders, who had bought him for his base price of INR 1 crore for IPL 2022. After being left out from the Indian Test team also, Rahane had a disappointing IPL 2022 for KKR – scoring 133 runs in 7 matches at a strike rate of 109 before his tournament ended prematurely due to an injury.
The former Rajasthan Royals captain has also lowered his base price to INR 50 lakh and is likely to get picked up by franchises who are looking for an Indian batsman who can bat as an opener and in the middle-order; CSK are looking for fill a middle-order slot after Robin Uthappa’s retirement, so Rahane could end up in yellow in IPL 2023.
In the Ranji Trophy game that was played at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Rahane’s side dominated the proceeding as they piled up 651 runs in 127.2 overs with multiple centurions in the line-up.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 162 runs, Rahane scored 204 and Sarfaraz Khan scored 126. Suryakumar Yadav made his return to first-class cricket after three years and smashed 90 runs in 80 balls.
After being released by Rajasthan Royals, Rahane hasn’t been a regular in the IPL in the last few seasons. He was at Delhi Capitals in 2020 and 2021 playing a combined of 11 matches in those two seasons.
