KL Rahul Likely To Lead Goenka’s Lucknow Franchise In IPL 2022 – Report

KL Rahul, who has been leading Punjab Kings, is likely to part ways with the Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta co-owned franchise prior to a mega auction for the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Indian Express reported. 

Rahul was named captain of the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for the 2020 IPL, after former captain Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. 

The Bangalore lad was bought by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for INR 11 crore in the 2018 IPL auction, the joint-third highest price.

According to Indian Express, KL Rahul is likely to join Sanjiv Goenka’s Lucknow-based franchise for the 15th season of the Indian Premier League. 

Lucknow franchise has approached a few interesting names apart from KL Rahul and if they manage to get both, could turn out to be interesting going into the auctions. Ahmedabad, which is yet to get an intent letter from BCCI, seems to interest many.

— Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) November 24, 2021

For the unversed, Kolkata tycoon Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Ventures Limited won the bidding the Lucknow franchise for a whopping Rs 7090 crore while international equity investment firm CVC Capital won the bid for Ahmedabad with a Rs 5600 crore offer as the eagerly-awaited two new IPL teams were unveiled in Dubai last month.

KL Rahul Recent Form In IPL 

The 29-year old has been the consistent run-getter for the Punjab based franchise. In the IPL 2020 season, he accumulated 670 runs in all the 14 matches he played, laced with 5 fifties and 1 hundred. He finished the 2020 season of the tournament as the Orange Cap holder. 

Later, he was retained by the Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2021 season and carrying on his fine form, he scored 626 runs in IPL 2021 and finished as the team’s highest scorer in the season and overall third highest of the tournament.