The two new teams in the Indian Premier League - Ahmedabad and Lucknow - have officially picked their three draft players ahead of the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auction. Ahmedabad has chosen Hardik Pandya (Rs 15 crore), Rashid Khan (Rs 15 crore), and Shubman Gill (Rs 8 crore). While Lucknow has opted to go with KL Rahul (Rs 17 crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs 9.2 crore), and Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 4 crore).
Vikram Solanki has been appointed as Ahmedabad's Director of Cricket while Hardik Pandya will be leading the franchise. Gary Kirsten will serve as the batting coach and mentor of the Ahmedabad franchise while Ashish Nehra has been appointed as the head coach.
Talking about Lucknow, KL Rahul will don the captaincy hat. Andy Flower has already been named the coach of the Lucknow franchise while former India batter Gautam Gambhir will serve as the mentor of the franchise.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya was not retained by Mumbai Indians while KL Rahul decided to part ways with Punjab Kings as he wanted to go to auction.
In the 2021 season, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill played for SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) respectively.
While Ravi Bishnoi and Marcus Stoinis represented Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.
Earlier, IPL franchises Ahmedabad and Lucknow were asked to submit the list of their draft picks by January 22. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed the development to ANI.
IPL's two new teams -- Sanjiv Goenka RPSG Group for the Lucknow franchise and CVC Capital's Ahmedabad team had received formal clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The formal clearance was given after a meeting of the IPL Governing Council.
Brijesh Patel had also confirmed that the IPL auction would be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. "Yes, the auction will be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13," said Patel.
-With inputs from ANI
