"Time to bring him in" - Fans react as Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane hits ton against Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy 2022-23

Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane starred with the bat during the team's Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad, slamming an impressive century in the first innings on Tuesday, December 20.

Coming in to bat at No.4, Rahane played with positive intent, crossing the 100-run mark in 124 balls with the help of 13 fours and two sixes. The veteran batter stitched together a stunning 206-run partnership for the third wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal, putting his side in pole position.

Rahane delighted fans with his subliminal knock at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Many fans took to social media to laud the seasoned campaigner for the superlative effort. Here are some of the Twitter reactions:

Notably, Ajinkya Rahane was dropped from India's Test squad following the side's tour to South Africa last year. The right-handed batter has struggled for form since his 112-run knock in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020.

His underwhelming performances in the three-match Test series against South Africa proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Rahane mustered 136 runs from six innings and has not featured for the national side since then.

The 34-year-old will be aiming to play big knocks in the ongoing domestic season in an attempt to find a place for the upcoming home Test series against Australia.

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Ajinkya Rahane to go under the hammer at the IPL 2023 mini-auction

Ajinkya Rahane represented the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he failed to make the most of his chances, finishing with 133 runs in seven matches at an ordinary strike rate of 103.90.

The experienced batter will be up for grabs at the forthcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction. The former Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain has set his base price at ₹50 lakh.

The event is set to take place in Kochi on Friday, December 23. A total of 991 players will go under the hammer at the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

Rahane has played 158 matches in the cash-rich league and has amassed 4074 runs from the same. He has failed to perform consistently in the competition. It remains to be seen if his IPL career will get a new lease of life this time around.