IPL 2022: KL Rahul set to lead Lucknow franchise

The Lucknow IPL franchise has signed three players, including KL Rahul. Marcus Stoinis, an Australian all-rounder, and Ravi Bishnoi, an uncapped Indian leg spinner, are the other two. Rahul was bought for Rs 15 crore, Stoinis and Bishnoi were picked for Rs 11 crore and Rs 4 crore respectively. The Lucknow franchise has signed in-form Indian cricketer KL Rahul, who was released by Punjab Kings (PBKS) before of the IPL mega-auction.

One of the two new IPL clubs was rumored to be interested in buying Rahul, who has remained one of the most consistent players in the tournament. In the upcoming IPL, KL Rahul will lead the yet-to-be-named Lucknow franchise.

Rahul was the captain of Punjab Kings for the previous two seasons, however he did not want to stay with the team. Bishnoi also played for Punjab, while Stoinis played for Delhi Capitals. The Lucknow franchise was purchased for Rs. 7090 crores by the RPSG Group. In the absence of an injured Rohit Sharma, Rahul is the Indian ODI team’s stand-in captain in South Africa.

Between 2018 and 21, Rahul scored 26.52 percent of Punjab’s runs, with season totals of 659, 593, 670, and 626, respectively. These are four of the top five season totals for any batter in the IPL for the Punjab franchise. In reality, his 670 runs in IPL 2020 came with a strike rate of 129.34, the lowest of anyone who has scored 600 runs or more in an IPL season since the league began. Even his 626 runs in IPL 2021 came at a strike rate of 138.80, making Rahul the only hitter in a 600-plus IPL season with two sub-140 strike-rate totals.

Stoinis will play in his fourth IPL season in Lucknow. He began his career with the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2015, and he returned to the team in 2020 after being purchased for INR 4.8 crore. Stoinis, 32, has played 27 games for the Capitals, scoring 441 runs at a strike rate of 142.71 and taking 15 wickets. He had also played for Punjab and Royal Challengers in the interval.

Bishnoi was one of the most sought-after uncapped players ahead of this year’s IPL auction, with several franchises indicating great interest in him following his success in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, where he finished as the leading wicket-taker. Punjab was one of them, having won a bidding war for him in the 2020 auction against Mumbai Indians for INR 2 crore.