On 25th October 2021, although there was no telecast of the event, the global cricketing audience kept waiting for updates on social media with rising anticipations over which major business juggernaut will next be involved in IPL 2022. The Glazers family from the USA, the Adanis, the Jindals, Hindustan Media, Kotak Group – some of the biggest business magnets came under one roof to get involved with Cricket’s ultimate cash cow. It was all about the two IPL 2022 new teams. The IPL is expanding and from the IPL 2022, the tournament will feature two new teams.
After a lot of back and forth, former franchise owners RPSG Ventures Limited and one of Britain’s leading private equity firm owners CVC Capital Partners won this cold war. The teams spent Rs. 7090 Crore on Lucknow and Rs. 5,625 Crore on Ahmedabad respectively. It came as no surprise that the prospective owners eventually chose these cities. It was as clear as daylight that the new stadium in Ahmedabad and the incredible fanbase in Uttar Pradesh were way too attractive propositions to ignore.
RPSG Ventures have confirmed that the franchise will be called “Lucknow Super Giants” but due to some technical delays in getting the papers signed, Ahmedabad is yet to make its appearance on social media or get its team name confirmed ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
Here’s everything you must know as of now about the two new teams and what can be expected from them in the coming months of the Indian Premier League.
Team Ahmedabad
The state of Gujarat has produced some amazing cricketers over the years and to get started once again in the IPL 2022, the new owners drafted one of their own men in Hardik Pandya. Hardik, despite not having a lot of captaincy experience will lead the new franchise.
Players List and Coach Staff
As far as the retained players from the players’ list are concerned, despite having plenty of other options among Indian players, they went with Shubman Gill, previously a winner of the Emerging Player Award in IPL.
However, in what turned out to be a sensational draft, they have picked up the Afghanistan stalwart Rashid Khan, who is one of the biggest match-winners in world cricket. It came as a surprise that Sunrisers Hyderabad would let go of someone with his calibre, but it was quite evident that both these new franchises were going to pounce on him.
All these three players have registered very impressive numbers over the years in IPL. Whilst Shubman Gill has 1,417 runs at an average just in excess of 30, Hardik Pandya has 1,476 runs at a strike rate of 153.91, and 42 wickets with the ball. Rashid Khan, who first made his entry in the IPL in 2017 with Sunrisers, has picked up 93 wickets in 76 IPL games at an economy of 6.33.
They left no stone unturned in picking their coaching staff as well, drafting a World Cup-winning coach and a very respected man in this part of the world, Gary Kirsten, as their head coach. Former England opener Vikram Solanki will be the team director, whilst Ashish Nehra will be the bowling coach.
What To Look Forward Ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction
With these drafts, Ahmedabad are off to a good start, signing one of the future Indian stars at the top of the order, and another major match-winner in Pandya. Rashid Khan’s signing was just an icing on the cake, and it makes things way more interesting for the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
Like most other teams, they would want to build a solid core of Indian cricketers and would be targeting names like Ishan Kishan, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin and a few more. Since they haven’t drafted any prolific fast bowler, we can expect them to go all-out for Indian options like Mohammed Shami, Bhvuneshwar Kumar or Shardul Thakur, or even the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult.
Players Drafted – Hardik Pandya (Rs. 15 Crore), Rashid Khan (Rs. 15 Crore), Shubman Gill (Rs. 7 Crore)
Remaining Purse – Rs. 53 Crore
Captain – Hardik Pandya
Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants went for a giant kill in the draft and they managed to get hold of a player, who would’ve been the most expensive purchase had he been in the auction. KL Rahul will be leading the franchise for their first-ever season, as confirmed by the team owner Sanjeev Goenka and the management recently launched their logo as well.
Players List and Retained Players
The numbers KL Rahul has registered in the last 4 seasons since joining Punjab Kings are absolutely extraordinary. He has picked over 590 runs in each of these seasons, and won the Orange Cap once as well. With the cricketer starting to get bigger responsibilities in the national setup, he seems well equipped to be taking this role.
Lucknow’s other draft picks came as a surprise for the fans. Marcus Stoinis, the Australian all-rounder who has been one of the biggest stars in the Big Bash League, and produced some incredible performances in Australia’s first-ever T20 World Cup triumph recently, was picked by the franchise.
Stoinis previously made a half-decent impression with Delhi Capitals and also was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings. However, to be part of a core team this time will be a different and challenging experience for the Australian.
Another interesting pick from the franchise was young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who broke through into limelight during the ICC U19 World Cup 2020. He represented the Punjab Kings for two seasons, and much to the surprise of everyone watching, Lucknow grabbed him as they couldn’t get Rashid Khan.
Bishnoi did not get a lot of games in the IPL last season and did not make an appearance until the tournament moved to the UAE. He has picked up 24 wickets thus far in 21 games, at an economy 6.96. The growing importance of quality leg-spinners has been vindicated once again with this move.
What To Look Forward Ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction?
Their retentions were quite identical to that of Ahmedabad, both sides went for one quality opener, a proven all-rounder and a leg-spinner capable of churning magic. Just like the other new franchise, or the pre-existing ones, they will be ready to spend heavily on a strong Indian core, which has proven to be a success mantra for recent winners.
It’ll be interesting to see if Lucknow would go all-out for an explosive foreign opener to partner Rahul, and there are some pretty decent options like Quinton de Kock, David Warner, Jonny Bairstow among the marquee names alongside some underrated names like Evin Lewis or Ben McDermott.
Players Drafted – KL Rahul (Rs. 15 Crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs. 11 Crore), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs. 4 Crore)
Remaining Purse – Rs. 60 Crore
Captain – KL Rahul
Conclusion IPL 2022 New Teams
Lucknow and Ahmedabad are two of the hottest properties in the IPL market and everyone is keen to know which kind of players they pick in the upcoming auctions.
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