"Brain-dead pick; he's a fan of SRK" - Twitterati troll KKR for signing Ajinkya Rahane at IPL 2022 Auction

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kicked off some subtle social-media trolling of their auction managers by signing former India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane for his base price of ₹1 crore on Day 2 of the IPL 2022 Auction.

The Mumbaikar played just two IPL games for the Delhi Capitals last season, scoring a mere eight runs. He didn't get a chance to bat in the first game and managed a run-a-ball eight in the second. Overall, he's featured in 151 matches in the Indian T20 league, scoring 3941 runs at an average of 31.53 and a strike rate of 121.34, including 28 fifties and two centuries.

The Test specialist has been struggling for form on the international circuit over the last couple of years as well. Despite playing a few important knocks, he is averaging in the low 20s with the bat. He even lost the vice-captaincy to Rohit Sharma in December.

Reacting to the development, fans on Twitter expressed surprise that Rahane even invited bids at the auction. While some questioned KKR's strategy for building a batting order bereft of any firepower, others said the base price signing was a "steal" for the batter and not for the two-time IPL champions.

The following are the best reactions:

"My IPL record is really good" - Ajinkya Rahane

In a recent interview with Boria Majumdar for his YouTube channel RevSportz, the Mumbaikar expressed confidence in his prior IPL record, saying he was confident in his ability and looking forward to the upcoming season.

He explained:

“I don’t talk about myself, but my IPL record is really good. Especially for Rajasthan Royals, I’ve played 7-8 years, did really well. I didn’t get much game time in the last 2 years, but I’m confident. For me, it’s all about playing matches, it’s all about playing consistently in white-ball cricket. So, I’m looking forward to that."

The 33-year-old joins Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana and Sheldon Jackson in KKR's batting order.