Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League does not look far away with 27 March set as the tournament opener. However, there is still plenty of work left to do before the mega event kicks off. The Mega Auction is due on 12 and 13 February while a decision on the venues for the tournament is still awaited. Also, the names of the two new franchises- Ahmedabad and Lucknow- are yet to be revealed. And it seems like the day is not that far.
As per sources close to SportsTiger, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has set 31st January as the deadline for the name announcement by the two new franchises. While RPSG Group owned-Lucknow franchise asked fans to pitch in the names they would like their franchise to be called as, Ahmedabad has not indicated anything like that. Luckow also gave a sneak peek into their name through a cryptic post.
Apart from announcing the name, the two new franchises have completed all the formalities. They have announced their three draft picks as well as the captains. The Lucknow franchise have gone with KL Rahul (17 CR) as their captain and also picked Marcus Stoinis (9.2 CR) and Ravi Bishnoi (4 CR). On the other hand, Ahmedabad have shown faith in Hardik Pandya (15 CR) for the leadership role. They have also picked Afghan leggie Rashid Khan (15 CR) and Shubman Gill (8 CR).
While there is still confusion around the venues for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the date for the same has been confirmed. IPL 2022 is all set to get underway from the last week of March. BCCI secretary Jay Shah also confirmed the same on Saturday. "I am delighted to confirm that the 15th season of the IPL will start in the last week of March and will run until May end. A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India," Shah was quoted as saying in a press note issued by the BCCI.