IPL Auction 2018, Day 1: Hits and misses

Hit: Ajinkya Rahane

Rajasthan Royals did not retain Ajinkya Rahane initially but they used the Right to Match card to get their old warhorse for INR 4 crore in the IPL auctions.

#PadhaaroSa @ajinkyarahane88!Welcome back to the Royals!Great to have you back with us.We're going to create a lot of #HallaBol together!#AbBajegaDanka #IPLAuction #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/B0zFRBqa7b

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) January 27, 2018

Rahane, who played for Rising Pune Supergiant in Season 10, has been one of the key players for RR over the years and entered the auctions as one of the 16 marquee players with a base price of INR 2 crore.

"Our favourite blue-blooded player is Ajinkya. So we retained him with an RTM. Stokes would have been equal to anyone we'd have had, had we retained any other player. In a start-up mode, we're trying to invest up front and in the first half of the entire auction process, most of the star players seem to be there. Therefore we're investing. There's no change in strategy. Through the afternoon and tomorrow we'll come out with a few more surprises to see that this team is even more resilient to return to the IPL", Ranjit Barthakur, Rajasthan Royals Chairman and CEO said.