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The 2022 edition of Indian Premier League is set to be a mega extravaganza with two new teams joining the cash-rich league. Lucknow franchise was bought by RPSG group for INR 7,090 crores and CVC Capital won the bid for Ahmedabad franchise for INR 5,625 crores.
With all the other 8 teams already retaining a few players, BCCI gave an opportunity to the two new sides to sign three players each from the available pool. Since then, both Lucknow and Ahmedabad have been in talks with so many big names in order to sign them.
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There have been numerous reports doing the rounds in last month. With players like Shreyas Iyer, David Warner, Ishan Kishan etc. linked with the two teams, the further reports suggested that none of them would join any team and they would eventually land up in the mega auctions.
Although the final draft picks were revealed a few days earlier, there was no official announcement yet made by any team. However, things were finally made official on Friday when the signed players of both the sides were made official, with the announcement being made on Star Sports Network after the end of 2nd ODI between South Africa and India.
While the franchise's players were revealed earlier, it was the amount of which they were signed for which was unknown. And now, it has been confirmed that KL Rahul (who will be team captain) has become the most expensive player for IPL 2022 so far, getting a whopping salary of INR 17 crores.
KL Rahul - INR 17 crores
Marcus Stoinis - INR 9.2 crores
Ravi Bishnoi - INR 4 crores
Team director Vikram Solanki revealed the picks for the franchise while also confirming that Hardik Pandya will be the captain of the team.
Hardik Pandya - INR 15 crores
Rashid Khan - INR 15 crores
Shubman Gill - INR 8 crores
"It's a new era for us and I am excited for the times ahead. A big welcome to Rashid and Shubman as well, two players who will bring a lot to the table," Ahmedabad's captain Hardik Pandya said on Star Sports.
How much money will both teams have for mega auctions?
It must be noted that all the teams have been allotted a purse of INR 90 crores for the auctions. While Ahmedabad will have INR 52 crores in their kitty to spend on the rest of the players in mega auctions, Lucknow will have INR 59 crores with them, having saved some money by buying an uncapped player in drafts.
It is going to be extremely interesting to see how the two teams fare in their maiden auctions (set to take place on Feb 12-13 in Bengaluru) ahead of their debut season.