IPL 2022: Lucknow pick KL Rahul for Rs 17 crore, costliest IPL player with Virat Kohli; New teams’ final list

Apart
from
Rahul,
the
Lucknow
franchise
has
picked
Australia
all-rounder
Marcus
Stoinis
(Rs
9.2
crore)
and
upcoming
Indian
leg-spinner
Ravi
Bishnoi
(Rs
4
crore).

Sanjiv
Goenka,
the
owner
of
Lucknow
team,
told
Star
Sports:
“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
three-four-five-six-seven-eight
years.”

Goenka
also
said
Rahul
will
be
Lucknow’s
captain.
“Yes,
KL
will
be
the
captain.
I
have
been
very
impressed
with
not
only
his
batting
and
wicketkeeping,
but
also
his
leadership
skills.
He
is
evolving,
growing,
maturing
as
a
leader.

“He
is
somebody
I
would
have
wanted
to
lead
the
team
and
I
do
believe
that
given
the
right
atmosphere,
environment,
he
will
emerge
as
a
remarkable
leader,”
he
added.

Meanwhile,
the
Ahmedabad
team
confirmed
their
draft
picks
as
Hardik
Pandya
(Rs
15
crore),
Rashid
Khan
(Rs
15
crore)
and
Shubman
Gill
(Rs
8
crore).
The
team
also
confirmed
that
Hardik
will
lead
the
side.

Ahmedabad’s
mentor-cum-batting
coach
Gary
Kirsten
explained
why
they
have
chosen
Hardik
as
captain.

“He’s
a
young,
new
captain
and
he’ll
be
motivated
to
come
in,
make
a
play
and
show
what
he’s
capable
of
at
this
level
as
a
leader,”
Kirsten
told
Star
Sports.

“He’s
a
great
leader,
a
high
performer,
and
he’s
really
motivated.
What
I’ve
heard
is
that
he
is
keen
to
get
in
the
mix.
What
I’ve
heard,
he’s
raring
to
go
and
get
in
the
mix
from
a
leadership
perspective.
That’s
very
exciting
for
us
to
have
a
player
with
such
a
level
of
skill,
motivated
to
do
well,”
said
the
South
African.

On
Rashid
Khan,
Kirsten
said:
“Rashid
has
proven
his
value
all
around
the
world,”
Kirsten
said.
“I
haven’t
yet
worked
with
him,
but
I’ve
met
him
a
few
times.
Watching
him
on
the
field,
he
is
a
competitive
young
man
and
wants
to
do
well
for
the
franchises
he
plays
in.”

On
Gill,
Kirsten
said:
“Gill
is
a
fantastic
player
who,
at
the
end
of
the
day,
in
my
view,
should
be
playing
for
India.
He’s
on
the
verge
of
that
and
plays
with
great
flair
and
instinct
for
the
game.
He
can
be
a
match-winner
on
his
own.”

The
IPL
2022
formalities
require
that
the
two
new
teams
will
have
to
pick
three
players
from
the
pool
with
one
being
a
foreign
recruit
and
no
less
than
two
Indian
players.
There
were
hot
debates
over
Ahmedabad
picking
Shreyas
Iyer
but
eventually
they
did
not
went
for
him
meant
that
the
India
middle-order
batsman
will
be
in
the
auction
mix
but
is
expected
to
fetch
a
high
price.