5 Players who can lead Lucknow in IPL 2022

The Indian Premier League (IPL) now has officially two new teams. These two new teams will be from Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Sanjiv Goenka led RPSG paid INR 7090 crore (USD 940 million approx) to buy the Lucknow franchise.

This is the first time that a team from Lucknow will be participating in the IPL. Considering the state’s market, having a team from Lucknow is an absolute masterstroke. Besides, the vastly populated city of Lucknow is surely bound to like their home team.

However, this team will have to start from scratch and get a whole new squad in the upcoming mega auction of IPL 2022. Thus, they will be needing a captain as well. So which are those captains who can lead this new franchise?

In the article, we shall be taking a look at 5 players who can lead Lucknow in IPL 2022

1) Steve Smith

Steve Smith has one of the smartest cricket brains going around. His tactics are often appreciated by one and all. Besides, his captaincy record in the IPL is commendable, to say the least.

Barring the one bad season in 2020, he has been sensational as an IPL captain. As a matter of fact, his win percentage as an IPL captain is a whopping 59.52%. Only MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have a better success percentage than him.

Not only has he been superb for the Rajasthan Royals but he was truly inspirational as a leader for now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. He took them to the finals. Coincidentally Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of the Lucknow team was also the owner of RPSG back then.

2) David Warner

David Warner is arguably one of the greatest IPL players of all time without a shred of a doubt. His records as a batsman are unreal. Moreover, his record as a captain is superb too.

He has been the face of the Sunrises Hyderabad for quite a while now. The Aussie opener was their captain from 2015 to 2021. He even won the title as a skipper in 2016.

His win percentage as an IPL captain is 52.17. However he had a fallout with the SRH management and thus, was axed as a captain during the recently concluded IPL 2021. Thus, Lucknow can buy him in the auction and he can be a captaincy option for them as well.

3) Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is nicknamed ‘Mr.IPL’ for a reason. He has been one of the best players in the history of the league. The batsman has also been the face of the Chennai Super Kings since the inception of the IPL. However, he had a lukewarm campaign IPL 2021. CSK even dropped him in between the tournament.

Thus, it looks highly unlikely that they are going to retain him ahead of the mega auction of IPL 2022. As he happens to hail from Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow can definitely pick him and please their local fans simultaneously.

Besides, the veteran isn’t new to captaincy and has had his fair share as a captain in the Indian T20 league. The southpaw captained the Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 and has been the CSK skipper on a few occasions as well.

4) Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has completely transformed his IPL career. From just a good player to one of the best, Dhawan’s change of approach has rejuvenated his IPL records as a batsman. This aggressive approach can be implemented in his leadership skills as well.

While Dhawan’s credentials as a captain aren’t too great, his experience and positive approach can change his style of captaincy as well. Besides, he was last seen as an IPL captain in 2014. That was a long time ago.

Besides, the Delhi Capitals have a lot of talented players with them. As they would look to retain the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, retaining Dhawan seems almost impossible. Thus, Lucknow can buy him and give him the added responsibility of leading the side as well.

5) Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan is one of the best captains of this era. His tactical mind has been a revolution with respect to limited-overs cricket. He has been a good captain in the IPL as well.

He has a win percentage of 47.91%. Despite his poor form with the bat, he was able to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL final in this season. Add to that his experience in this format of the game.

As he had a poor IPL 2021 with the bat, KKR would most probably release them. Besides, they have a lot of overseas players to retain such as Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and even Pat Cummins. This gives Lucknow the opportunity to get him in the mega auction of IPL 2022.