"Time to bring him in" - Fans react as Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane hits ton against Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy 2022-23

Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane starred with the bat during the team's Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad, slamming an impressive century in the first innings on Tuesday, December 20.

Coming in to bat at No.4, Rahane played with positive intent, crossing the 100-run mark in 124 balls with the help of 13 fours and two sixes. The veteran batter stitched together a stunning 206-run partnership for the third wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal, putting his side in pole position.

Rahane delighted fans with his subliminal knock at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Many fans took to social media to laud the seasoned campaigner for the superlative effort. Here are some of the Twitter reactions:

@FCSJigarShah IMO Rahane should seriously be called back in Tests atleast as a captain because he did a very good job in Australia where he won the series from a nearly impossible situation

Hundred for Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane. He scored 100* runs from 124 balls including 13 Fours and 2 sixes in Ranji trophy. He scored Hundred with 80+ strike rate.

@ajinkyarahane88

Hundred!!! He's back ..... #AjinkyaRahane

Rahane 💯
#mumvhyd https://t.co/EigFU6RIzN

While it may feel India's test team have no spot left in top 6, clearly Jaiswal, #SKY and Rahane started knocking doors strongly along with Prithvi Shaw.

#RanjiTrophy https://t.co/1LK35HAYnV

@mufaddal_vohra Pujji Rahane bapas lao 🥺

The moment

@ajinkyarahane88 💯

#KhadoosArmy #MumbaiRanji
#CricketTwitter https://t.co/ZGQlWhAPcy

@ImTanujSingh Time to bring him In test setup

Hundred for Captain @ajinkyarahane88

Well done legend.

#RanjiTrophy

@rajasthanroyals Bring back @ajinkyarahane88 in team. I am sure he will perform very well for royals. He has good records in royal.

@mufaddal_vohra Replace Rahane in place of KL

Notably, Ajinkya Rahane was dropped from India's Test squad following the side's tour to South Africa last year. The right-handed batter has struggled for form since his 112-run knock in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020.

His underwhelming performances in the three-match Test series against South Africa proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Rahane mustered 136 runs from six innings and has not featured for the national side since then.

The 34-year-old will be aiming to play big knocks in the ongoing domestic season in an attempt to find a place for the upcoming home Test series against Australia.

Ajinkya Rahane to go under the hammer at the IPL 2023 mini-auction

Ajinkya Rahane represented the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he failed to make the most of his chances, finishing with 133 runs in seven matches at an ordinary strike rate of 103.90.

The experienced batter will be up for grabs at the forthcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction. The former Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain has set his base price at ₹50 lakh.

The event is set to take place in Kochi on Friday, December 23. A total of 991 players will go under the hammer at the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

Top 5️⃣ players to look out for in the upcoming IPL auction 🔥

#CricketTwitter #IPL https://t.co/UtS5FZ4x3I

Rahane has played 158 matches in the cash-rich league and has amassed 4074 runs from the same. He has failed to perform consistently in the competition. It remains to be seen if his IPL career will get a new lease of life this time around.