IPL 2022: 3 Players Lucknow team might pick in the draft ahead of the mega auction

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is most likely to start on April 2 with many new transformations coming into the tournament. The addition of the two new teams will result in a change in the structure of the championship. The two new inclusions for this IPL are Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

The two fresh teams can buy a total of three players ahead of the mega auction, and they cannot pick more than two Indian players (capped/uncapped) and more than one overseas player, and more than one Indian uncapped player. The existing eight teams could retain a maximum of four players each.

The price cap for the teams has been extended to 90 crores from 85 crores this year. The brand new teams will have a budget of 33 crores each to buy players before they reach the auction pool.

In this article, let’s take a look at three players the Lucknow franchise might pick ahead of the IPL mega auction

1. KL Rahul

The classy Indian opener KL Rahul parted ways with the Punjab Kings team and most likely would be signed by the unnamed Lucknow team ahead of the mega auction as per the reports from official sources. He is an all-dimensional cricketer who could fill in the spot of an opener, a wicket-keeper, and, most importantly, a captain.

Rahul has been playing the IPL since 2013 and his statistics have only been rising up the ladder since then. He was a part of the Punjab franchise from 2018 and led the team since 2020. He looked like the lonely wolf in the team and they couldn’t qualify even once under his tenure.

KL and the Punjab Kings team would look for a fresh start from the 15th edition and, since it hasn’t worked for them under him, he will be open to bidding. The Lucknow team would look to get a star player who could lead the side for many more years and Rahul is the best contender on the list.