IPL 2022: Lucknow franchise picks up KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi

As per a report published by ESPN Cricinfo, KL Rahul is set to lead the Lucknow franchise ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, IPL 2022.

IPL 2022

KL Rahul is the first-choice pick for the Lucknow franchise from the drafts. The other two picks are likely to be Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi. 

It has been understood that Lucknow has spent 15 crores for KL Rahul, 11 crores for Marcus Stoinis, and 4 crores for Ravi Bishnoi. The Lucknow franchise was bought for over 7000 crores by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group. 

KL Rahul was earlier part of the Punjab Kings for four consecutive years since 2018. He was the highest run-scorer for the franchises for four years consistently. However, despite his contributions with the bat, Punjab failed to reach the playoffs on a single occasion. Ahead of the 2022 edition of the tournament, KL Rahul parted ways with the franchise. 

Marcus Stoinis, on the other hand, was part of the Delhi Capitals until last year. He was outstanding with the bat in the 2019 edition of the tournament, however, the next two editions weren’t that fruitful. The Australian all-rounder was released by the franchise ahead of the next edition of the tournament. For Marcus Stoinis, the Lucknow team will be his 4th franchise in IPL. He has earlier played for Delhi, Punjab, and RCB. 

Ravi Bishnoi made his debut for Punjab Kings in the 2020 edition of the tournament. He impressed one and all with his bowling exploits in the very first edition, picking 12 wickets at an economy of under 8. However, he also was retained by his franchise for the next edition of IPL.