Twitter reacts with hilarious memes as Ravichandran Ashwin joins Jos Buttler at Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals bagged the services of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL 2022 Auction for ₹5 crore. Coming at a base price of ₹2 crore, the marquee player saw a brief bidding war between his erstwhile team Delhi Capitals and the Sanju Samson-led Royals, with the latter having the last laugh.

Twitter reacted to the announcement with some rib-tickling memes, mostly focussed on Ashwin's unison with the Royals' premier wicketkeeper-batter Buttler.

The 35-year-old ran Buttler out at the non-striker's end in his bowling stride during the 2019 IPL. The incident prompted some sharp exchanges of words between the two players on the field and a major controversy on the 'Mankading' issue.

Here are the best reactions:

Trent Boult joins Ashwin at Rajasthan Royals

One of India's premier Test spinners, Ashwin is coming off a brilliant international comeback. He was one of India's best bowlers in the T20 World Cup and has a brilliant record in the IPL as well. In 167 matches, he has picked 145 wickets at an average of 27.80 and a strike rate of 24.12.

He stands out with his economy rate of just over 6.1 and can contribute with the bat as well. The veteran off-spinner will also double up as an experienced captaincy backup for Sanju Samson.

Soon after roping in Ashwin, the Rajasthan Royals also brought in New Zealand left-arm pacer Trent Boult to their team with a whopping ₹8 crore bid. In 62 IPL matches he has 76 wickets at an average of 26.09. He can swing the new ball in the powerplay phase and is also effective at the death with his yorkers and slower ones.

The two have joined Samson, Buttler and youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal in the pink. The core looks solid for now and the Rajasthan Royals are in a strong position to build a brilliant team.