KL Rahul will be the captain of the Lucknow team and he has been paid Rs 17 crore, which is the joint-most with Virat Kohli who achieved it in the 2018 retention.
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KL Rahul has officially been appointed as the captain of the Lucknow franchise for IPL 2022. In the process, he also created a slice of history. The Lucknow franchise signed KL Rahul for Rs 17 crore. This is historic in a way. It is the joint-highest price played to a player in the IPL. KL Rahul matches Virat Kohli for the price. The former India cricket team skipper was paid Rs 17 crore to be retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 auction.
Apart from KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi are the other players officially signed by the Lucknow franchise. Stoinis has been paid Rs 9.2 crore while Ravi Bishnoi has a price of Rs 4 crore. Lucknow and Ahmedabad were allowed to pick only three players with one overseas slot. Thus, Lucknow will head into the franchise with a price of Rs 59.89 crores. Stoinis had been part of the Delhi Capitals while Bishnoi showed his worth in two seasons for Punjab Kings.
We wanted the best and we didn't settle for less. ??#TeamLucknow #IPL2022 @klrahul11 @MStoinis @bishnoi0056 pic.twitter.com/p9oM8M9tHy
— Official Lucknow IPL Team (@TeamLucknowIPL) January 21, 2022
Speaking to Star Sports, Sanjiv Goenka, the head of the RPSG group that owns the franchise, stated the qualities of all the three players that they purchased. “KL is not only an outstanding batsman but also a great wicketkeeper. Marcus is a great finisher, a good bowler, and a phenomenal fielder. Ravi brings a unique dimension to the spin department and is an exceptional fielder. We want players to be here for 3-4-5-6-7-8 years,” Goenka said.
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The RP Sanjiv Goenka Group was earlier involved in the IPL when they purchased the Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2016 and 2017. The side included MS Dhoni, Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis, and several big names. Although they failed in 2016, they reached the final in 2017 where they lost by a pulsating one run to Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad.
In addition to the three signings, former India opener Gautam Gambhir has been roped in as the mentor of the team. Gambhir heaped praise on Rahul, stating that he was the total package. “He’s a work in progress, he keeps, he opens the batting. He consistently has been a phenomenal run-scorer. And what’s better than someone who gives you three things?”, Gambhir told the host broadcaster.
The IPL mega-auction will be held on February 12-13 in Bangalore. Apart from Lucknow, Ahmedabad will be the new franchise. IPL 2022 will be a 10-team event. The dates and venues of IPL 2022 have not yet been announced.
