IPL 2022 Lucknow team: Will Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis play for Lucknow in IPL 2022?

Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis played for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021, but failed to grab the retained players spot in the franchise.

After a delay and period of exasperation involving nearly two months post emerging as the second highest bidders to grab the Ahmedabad-based franchise, the CVC Capitals have finally been handed the ‘Letter of Intent’ by the BCCI on Monday.

This means that the franchise is confirmed to partake in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) alongside Lucknow, with the tournament set to be a 10-team affair this year onwards.

The Sanjiv Goenka-owned Lucknow team had, in the previous month, named their head coach, assistant coach, and Team mentor for the upcoming season of the lucrative league.

The franchise has in fact also struck a three-year deal with My11Circle as their title sponsor.

Also, Team India vice-captain KL Rahul has been all but confirmed as the team’s captain for their debut season. The team is expected to now name a total of three players to be drafted into their squad by January 31 (as per reports) ahead of the mega auction likely to take place on February 11 and 12 in Bengaluru.

As per an earlier report, alongside Rahul, Lucknow reportedly had talks with Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as the two other picks ahead of the mega auction.

But, as per a Times of India report on Monday, both Rashid and Ishan are more likely to strike their respective deals with the Ahmedabad-based franchise, in what appears to be a tight battle between the debutant franchises of the IPL.

Will Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis play for Lucknow in IPL 2022?

If the aforementioned source is to be believed, the Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada and Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis are also in talks with the Lucknow franchise for spots in the squad before the mega auction.

As per the latest report, the battle is intense between the two new franchises to strike a deal with Rashid Khan. Hence, in case Lucknow fail to rope in the Afghan superstar, both Rabada and Stoinis, or one of the two are likely to be signed as backups.

Both Rabada and Stoinis were part of the Delhi Capitals in the previous season of the IPL. The Proteas speedster was in fact their third highest wicket-taker (15 wickets) in the 2021 season after Avesh Khan and Axar Patel. Stoinis, on the other hand, had an ordinary previous season with both bat and ball.

The Ahmedabad franchise on the other hand, are most likely set to name Hardik Pandya as their captain for the debut season, with Ishan Kishan and Rashid Khan also in their negotiation list.