Lucknow IPL franchise set to rope in KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis & Ravi Bishnoi ahead of mega auction - Report
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The Lucknow Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise is reportedly all set to rope in KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi and Marcus Stoinis as their three draft picks ahead of the mega auction.
India's limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul has been reportedly roped in by the Lucknow IPL franchise as one of their three draft picks ahead of the Indian Premier League mega auction for the 2022 season. Rahul is Lucknow's first-choice pick in the draft and is all set to lead the side from IPL 2022.
While the existing eight teams have already revealed their final list of retained players, the two new teams - Lucknow and Ahmedabad have the option to pick a maximum of three players each from the draft ahead of the mega auction which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru next month.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, Rahul along with Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and young Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi are all set to be roped in by the Lucknow franchise as their three draft picks. While Rahul has been bought for Rs 15 crore (INR 150 million), Stoinis and Bishnoi will join for Rs 11 crore (INR 110 million) and Rs 4 crore (INR 40 million) respectively.
The Lucknow franchise had earlier confirmed the appointment of former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower as their head coach ahead of the new season. Former India batter Gautam Gambhir will be serving as the mentor of the team while Rahul will be leading them in their debut season in the IPL.
Rahul has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL with the bat and has been among the runs over the last few seasons of the league. He was the third-highest run-getter in IPL 2021 last year with an impressive 626 runs in just 13 matches for his former side Punjab Kings.
Rahul was appointed as the captain of Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2020 and led the team in two seasons, failing to inspire them to the playoffs even once. He decided to part ways with the franchise ahead of IPL 2022 and will now be in charge of the Lucknow team.
Stoinis was part of the Delhi Capitals squad last year and has been one of the most promising all-rounders in the T20s over the last few years. He has 914 runs and 30 wickets in 56 IPL matches. Bishnoi, who rose to prominence after the U-19 World Cup in 2020, has impressed as a leggy and has 24 wickets to his name in 23 IPL matches.