Rahane was brought to play the anchor but 80 runs in five innings is not how KKR must have envisaged the role. ©BCCI/IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders might not have been able to retain Shubman Gill but they went for a quasi like-for-like replacement as soon as they could. Ajinkya Rahane was their first buy on the second day of the 2022 IPL Auction - and KKR didn't just gain a touch player in the same mould as Gill but also added years of experience and bonafide leadership skills. The latter, in fact, was gold dust for a franchise that had just let go of Eoin Morgan, a World Cup-winning captain who had led the team to the IPL final only a few months ago.
Nobody perhaps understood it better than Abhishek Nayar, the Assistant Coach at KKR who's also spent a good part of a decade alongside Rahane in Mumbai's dressing rooms. "He is an absolute team man. If there was one player who would stand out and you can consider a proper team man it is Ajinkya," Nayar had said after KKR's six-wicket win in their opening game. "I don't think he is approaching the IPL to make a comeback; I think he is approaching the IPL to help KKR win the title."
Rahane ended up making 44 off 34 in his first outing this season.
