Reports: KL Rahul likely to be named Lucknow skipper, Shreyas Iyer in captaincy contention for Ahmedabad

In what can be called a major development, two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively, have finalized the three players they’ll pick ahead of the players’ auction. As per the reports, KL Rahul, who wasn’t retained by Punjab Kings, is likely to lead the Lucknow-based team. Rashid Khan are Ishan Kishan are the other two players who’ll accompany the 29-year-old.

As far as the Ahmedabad franchise is concerned, Shreyas Iyer, who parted ways with Delhi Capitals, would lead them. While Hardik Pandya is the other player picked in the team, either Quinton de Kock or David Warner would be the other pick in the team. For the unversed, the two new franchises are allowed to make a maximum of three picks from the list of non-retained players ahead of the next season’s bidding event.

KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer to lead the two new IPL teams

As a mega auction is in the pipeline, teams were allowed to retain just a maximum of four players, out of which only two can be foreign retentions. Hence, Lucknow and Ahmedabad have a lot of options to choose from. While the deadline to finalize the picks in December 25, sources close to ABP news have revealed that the players and even the captain is selected.

It must be noted that Punjab Kings wanted to retain KL Rahul decided to part ways. The same was confirmed by team’s head coach Anil Kumble. As far as Rashid is concerned, the Afghanistan leg-spinner reportedly wanted to be Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first retention. As the franchise owners decided to give that privilege to their skipper Kane Williamson, Rashid wasn’t retained. The other reported players in the two new teams weren’t considered for retention.

The 2022 edition of the gala T20 competition is highly awaited as it will see the tournament undergoing many changes. For the very first time since 2014, more than eight teams will be seen in auction. Moreover, the mega auction would see several teams going under revamps. Meanwhile, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is hopeful of conducting IPL 2022 in India, unlike the previous two seasons.