IPL auctions: Rajasthan Royals gets back Ajinkya Rahane using RTM

Rajasthan Royals used its Right to Match card to get back its old warhorse Ajinkya Rahane for Rs. 4 crore in the IPL auctions.

Rahane has been with the Royals for long now and he has been one on of the major players for the side.

Rajasthan Royals used its Right to Match card to get back its old warhorse Ajinkya Rahane for Rs. 4 crore in the IPL auctions.

The franchise did not retain him and decided to get back his services using the RTM. Rahane has been with Royals for long now and he has been one of the major players for the side.

Ranjit Barthakur, Rajasthan Royals Chairman and CEO, justified the decision. “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," Barthakur said.