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Cricket World Player of the Week - Ajinkya Rahane

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Classical Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has found a new home at CSK in IPL 2023 and has totally transformed his game to meet the demands of the fast-paced T20 format.

There were a few eyebrows raised when the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings picked Ajinkya Rahane in the IPL 2023 auctions. Most considered him a spent force in the T20 format.

His career with the Indian Test side also seemed to be over after he was dropped following poor returns in the away South Africa series. However, the classical batter went back to the drawing board, played domestic cricket, found his touch again and has given his career another lease of life.

On Sunday night, Rahane smashed 71 runs off 29 balls to win his first Player-of-the-Match award in the IPL since 2016. The batter has a strike rate of 254.16 against pace in IPL 2023 -- the best among players having faced at least 18 deliveries.

Traditionally a four-hitting batter - he's No. 8 on the IPL all-time list with 449 boundaries - Rahane has been hitting a six every 9.54 balls this IPL. For context, his previous best was 31.67 balls per six in 2019. This is the most by any batter in this edition of the IPL, even ahead of Glenn Maxwell who is at the second spot.

Coming into the CSK XI as a replacement player, Rahane has already scored 209 runs from just 5 matches at a sensational strike rate of 199.05.

Rahane was recently picked in the 15-man Indian squad for the WTC final against Australia at the Oval on the back of a fruitful Ranji Trophy season and runs in the IPL.