IPL 2022: Ahmedabad franchise picked Hardik Pandya as their captain for the new season while also roping in Afghanistan spinner Hardik Pandya and India opener Shubman Gill.
Hardik Pandya will lead Ahmedabad in the IPL 2022 season (Reuters Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Hardik Pandya will lead Ahmedabad IPL franchise for new season
- KL Rahul was signed up by Lucknow as their captain
- Rashid Khan was also roped in for Rs 15 crore by Ahmedabad
Hardik Pandya was officially announced as the captain of the new Indian Premier League franchise from Ahmedabad. The India all-rounder was drafted in for Rs 15 crore by the new franchise on Friday, January 21.
Newly-appointed Director of Cricket of the Ahmedabad franchise, Vikram Solanki, announced the three draft picks and their price bracket for the new season.
Also Read: KL Rahul signs up for Lucknow franchise for IPL 2022
While Hardik Pandya was roped in for Rs 15 crore, Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan, who played for SunRisers Hyderabad, has also been drafted for Rs 15 crore.
Former Kolkatta Knight Riders opener Shubman Gill was named as Ahmedabad’s third draft pick for Rs 8 crore.
Ahmedabad draft picks for IPL 2022
Hardik Pandya (captain) – Rs 15 crore
Rashid Khan – Rs 15 crore
Shubman Gill – Rs 8 crore
Purse remaining for IPL 2022 auction: Rs 52 crore
The IPL 2022 auction will be held on February 12 and 13. The 8 existing franchises announced a maximum of 4 retained players each last year as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave the 2 new franchise time until January last week to pick their 3 draft signings.
IPL 2022 will have 2 new teams — one from Ahmedabad and the other from Lucknow. The Ahmedabad team will be owned by CVC Capital. CVC was one of two companies to have won bids to own the two new franchises that will play in the IPL from next season. While its bid of Rs 5625 crore helped them win the Ahmedabad franchise, the RPSG Group won the Lucknow franchise with a bid of Rs 7090 crore.
Captaincy debut for Hardik in the IPL
Hardik has never led an IPL team in the past. However, the all-rounder had been an integral member of Mumbai Indians’ success over the years.
Hardik has played a total of 92 matches, hitting 1476 runs at a staggering strike rate of 153.91. He has picked up 42 wickets as well.
Hardik has not played for India since the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year. The all-rounder is recovering from persistent back issues as he missed the home series against New Zealand and the tour of South Africa.
Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.