New teams Lucknow and Ahmedabad can buy up to three players before the mega auction, with a limit of two Indian players and one overseas player.
With the IPL 2022 mega auction expected to commence next month, reports of player retentions have surfaced for teams like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. The next year’s edition will be the 15th Indian Premier League and two new teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, will be added to take the pool from 8 to 10 teams.
As per the BCCI’s extension rules, the 8 old teams can retain 4 players, including up to 2 foreign players. On the other hand, the two new teams Lucknow and Ahmedabad can buy up to three players before the mega auction, with a limit of two Indian players and one foreign player. The two teams are also limited to picking only one uncapped player from India. Both teams have a purse of Rs 33 crores for players bought ahead of the mega auction.
As per latest reports, the Lucknow franchise is likely to pick star Indian opener KL Rahul as their marquee buy before the IPL 2022 auction. The batsman was earlier with the Punjab Kings but is expected to be signed by the Lucknow IPL team, which is yet unnamed. Rahul may be selected as the player to captain the new IPL team, the first from Uttar Pradesh.
The other big Indian star who is reportedly on the Lucknow franchise’s radar is explosive all-rounder Hardik Pandya. With Mumbai Indians reportedly set to forego the option of retaining Hardik Pandya, he is set to be an attractive proposition as team Lucknow plans to get going from the start.
For the overseas player slot among the three pre-Mega Auction picks, Lucknow is expected to go for South African pacer Kagiso Rabada. The fast bowler had been with Delhi Capitals since 2017 but a patchy 2021 campaign meant that his franchise is reportedly opting to let him be in the market and instead retained his South African teammate Anrich Nortje.
IPL 2022 is expected to kick off from April 2 next year. With the addition of 2 new teams, the tournament will see a revised structure along with freshly assembled squads because of the upcoming mega auction. Furthermore, the price cap for IPL teams has also been increased from Rs 85 crores to Rs 90 crores ahead of the mega auction.
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 "IPL 2022: Lucknow likely to buy THESE two star players ahead of mega auction")
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