Kolkata Knight Riders rope in Ajinkya Rahane for his base price at IPL 2022 mega auction

Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have roped in veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane for his base price of ₹1 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Rahane was the second cricketer to come out of the bag on Day 2 of the event. KKR were the sole bidders for the 33-year-old, who is expected to add a lot of value and experience to the Knight Riders set up.

Ajinkya Rahane was part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) last season, but played only two games, scoring a mere eight runs.

Overall, the Mumbai batter has amassed 3941 runs in 151 IPL matches. He has 28 half-centuries and two hundreds to his name.

Rahane is expected to pair up with all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer at the top of the batting order for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Kolkata Knight Riders sign as Shreyas Iyer for ₹12.25 crore

The Kolkata-based franchise, co-owned by Shahrukh Khan, shelled a whopping ₹12.25 crore for Shreyas Iyer, who is likely to lead the side after they parted ways with Eoin Morgan.

Delhi Capitals triggered a bidding for the Indian international along with Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, but Kolkata Knight Riders left behind everyone to sign one of the most-sought after players in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Reacting to the signing, Shreyas stated that he is excited to join the "Galaxy of Knightss." In a video message shared by Kolkata Knight Riders, he said:

"KKR family, super excited to be a part of you all. I am looking forward to working this season with all the teammates, management and the support staff. It's going to be an exciting one. And looking forward to work with 'Galaxy of Knights'."

Kolkata have also roped in Aussie bowling all-rounder Pat Cummins (₹7.25 crore) , Nitish Rana (₹8 crore), Shivam Mavi (₹7.25 crore) and Sheldon Jackson (₹60 lakh).