Four-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) purchased former Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane for his base price of ₹50 lakh at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23.The 34-year-old was CSK’s first purchase at the mini-auction. Chennai were the first to make a move for the right-handed batter. There was not much enthusiasm for Rahane among other franchises. As a result, ₹50 lakh turned out to be the closing bid and the Mumbai batter was sold to CSK for his base price.The latest development will see Rahane reunite with CSK skipper MS Dhoni. The two had earlier played together for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. Rahane was part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last season. He had a mixed edition before being ruled out due to a hamstring injury.Twitterati were puzzled with CSK’s decision to go for Rahane. There were quite a few funny posts on the franchise’s obsession for ‘Test’ players. Some even compared the latest pick to Cheteshwar Pujara being bought for the same price by the franchise at an earlier IPL auction. Here are some reactions from the micro-blogging site to CSK’s decision to purchase Rahane:Gurkirat Singh Gill@gurkiratsgillCSK really respects India's Test veterans. Bought Pujara earlier in 2021, and now Rahane. And coincidentally, both at 50 Lakhs49820CSK really respects India's Test veterans. Bought Pujara earlier in 2021, and now Rahane. And coincidentally, both at 50 LakhsSagar@sagarcasmAjinkya Rahane: My age is 30+CSK:4436306Ajinkya Rahane: My age is 30+CSK: https://t.co/5JvGC2T5Xd‘@Ashwin_tweetz30+ Family man About to retire from intl cricket Welcome to the family, Rahane.4666930+ ✔️Family man ✔️About to retire from intl cricket ✔️Welcome to the family, Rahane. https://t.co/uzEnG5rY4CNikhil 🏏@CricCrazyNIKSCSK replace Robin with Rahane.Starts with R, Age tick, Test credentials tick. Nice.41015CSK replace Robin with Rahane.Starts with R, Age tick, Test credentials tick. Nice.Sai@akakrcb6Man CSK's auction strategy is so predictable all expecting them to bid for Mayank, Sam, and Holder... They are doing the same... But Rahane no one predicted.2376Man CSK's auction strategy is so predictable all expecting them to bid for Mayank, Sam, and Holder... They are doing the same... But Rahane no one predicted.Jr@Tyler_durd3nThis Rahane redemption at chepauk under the hands of Thala 172This Rahane redemption at chepauk under the hands of Thala 💉⏳https://t.co/rOWwEOARQbsnigdha@dramebaazkidNO MORE RAHANE IN PURPLE AND GOLD6NO MORE RAHANE IN PURPLE AND GOLD https://t.co/Cbd1jEOgUuretired ICT fan@anubhav__tweetsRahane saab perfectly fits the CSK criteria759Rahane saab perfectly fits the CSK criteria https://t.co/6CI4jNSZJnAnay@anaypostingCSK released jagadeeshan and bought rahane32CSK released jagadeeshan and bought rahane https://t.co/3uq8AvHg5ZSergio(hyped for Varisu)@sergiocskk2021- Pujara2023- RahaneIt’s Happeningggg twitter.com/pradip27_/stat…5342021- Pujara2023- RahaneIt’s Happeningggg twitter.com/pradip27_/stat… https://t.co/D8RX9dux2n73 gm@ict_critic"Rahane at 50L is such a good buy. People overreacting for no reason"102"Rahane at 50L is such a good buy. People overreacting for no reason" https://t.co/sFT9EH3upTAegon Targaryen🗡️™@SixthOfHisName_Fans making funny memes about CSK bidding for Rahane & MishraLe CSK~182Fans making funny memes about CSK bidding for Rahane & MishraLe CSK~ https://t.co/9VGwFboNxOits gonna be fine@urmommyfan_Suresh Raina seeing csk bid forAjinkya rahane1Suresh Raina seeing csk bid forAjinkya rahane https://t.co/tKCNx10XK2Ajinkya Rahane’s IPL stats Rahane, 34, is a highly experienced IPL player. He has so far featured in 158 matches for multiple franchises, going back to the inaugural edition in 2008. The right-handed batter has so far scored 4074 runs at an average of 30.86 and a strike rate of 120.68 with two hundreds and 28 fifties.In the IPL 2022 season, he scored 133 runs in seven matches at an average of 19.00 and a strike rate of 103.91. He failed to register a half-century and had a best of 44.Rahane, who was dropped from the Test squad earlier this year after a prolonged lean run, has been captaining Mumbai in the ongoing domestic season. He scored a double hundred in Mumbai’s win over Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 match at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.The cricketer also made headlines recently when he claimed that the kind of wickets prepared in India led to his, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara’s Test averages coming down in the last two to three years.