In the latest IPL auction, there was a lot of speculation surrounding the price that Ajinkya Rahane would fetch. Chennai Super Kings had hoped to buy him for more than INR 50 lakhs, and had prepared accordingly. However, this did not come to pass. No one else bid on Rahane except for Chennai, and they were able to purchase him for the base price.
Rahane’s performance in the IPL has been lackluster, and he was dropped from the Indian Test team at the beginning of 2022. Kolkata Knight Riders had also released him from their team. In the auction, he had lowered his base price and joined the INR 50 lakh group. When the auction took place, no one else bid on him except for Chennai Super Kings, who purchased him for that amount.
Chennai had already planned to buy Rahane before the auction. The team’s CEO, Kashi Viswanathan, had discussed this with coach Stephen Fleming and captain MS Dhoni. Fleming had previously worked with Rahane in the Rising Pune Supergiants and was a fan of his discipline. Similarly, Rahane had played a lot under Dhoni’s captaincy in the Indian team, and the coach-captain duo liked the idea of having him on the team.
This was a relatively low-key purchase for Chennai Super Kings, but it could pay dividends if Rahane can find his form and contribute to the team’s success.
