"Thank you for showing faith in me" - Ajinkya Rahane reacts after KKR rope in the veteran batter at IPL 2022 auction

Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) new recruit Ajinkya Rahane has reacted to his signing on Day 2 of the IPL 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru on Sunday (February 13).

The 33-year-old batter was the second player to come out of the bag on the final day after Aiden Markram. He entered the auction at a reserve price of ₹1 crore.

The Knight Riders were the sole bidders for Rahane as the two-time IPL champions acquired his service at the base price. The veteran cricketer from Mumbai is excited to join Kolkata and shared a short video message for the fans.

In a clip shared by KKR on their social media handles, Ajinkya Rahane said:

"Hi everyone, I'm really happy and excited to join the KKR family. Thank you so much for showing faith in me. I know we must be doing really well in last couple of seasons and I'm sure we as a team we will do well in this season as well. Also, I am really excited to join the galaxy of knights. Cheers."

Rahane is expected to bring a lot of experience to the table having been part of the IPL for many years and represented many franchises.

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Ajinkya Rahane's IPL record

After limited opportunities at Mumbai Indians, Rahane shifted base to Rajasthan in 2011 under Shane Warne, where he rose to prominence.

Ajinkya Rahane represented Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017 when the Royals were banned from the tournament. He returned to Rajasthan in 2018 and spent a couple of seasons there before joining the Delhi Capitals.

The cricketer from Mumbai was roped in by the KKR in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Overall, Rahane has accumulated 3941 runs in 151 IPL matches and has 28 fifties and two centuries under his belt.

Rahane is expected to open the batting for Kolkata alongside young all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who shot to fame in the last IPL season.