Ahmedabad select Hardik Pandya Captain, Ishan Kishan, Rashid Khan for IPL 2022

Finally, there is a deadline on by when the two new franchises can sign the three free players. With the CVC Capital-Ahmedabad franchise issue all set to be cleared by next week, BCCI has set January 31 deadline for the two new franchises from announcing their first three picks before IPL 2022 Auction. In recent development Ahmedabad select Hardik Pandya Captain, Ishan Kishan, Rashid Khan for IPL 2022.

Ashish Nehra is likely to be the head coach of the franchise. The two new franchises will have to give three names (two Indians and one overseas) before the mega auction which is likely to be held in the second week of February.

Players bought by Ahmedabad’s IPL franchise for IPL 2022:

Hardik Pandya (Captain)

In what can be called a major development, Hardik Pandya is set to lead the Ahmedabad-based franchise in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The all-rounder, who served Mumbai Indians ever since his IPL debut in 2015, was released ahead of the upcoming mega auctions. Hence, he’ll either get picked by one of the two new franchises or will land in the auction pool.

For the unversed, the two franchises Lucknow and Ahmedabad can pick a maximum of three players from the list of non-retained players ahead of the bidding event. With Pandya being a proven star of this format, he’s most likely to earn a contract from one of the two new teams. While no official confirmation has come yet, Pandya hasn’t just been reportedly signed by Ahmedabad but is also set to lead the team.

However, Pandya has emerged as a new front-runner to take the position. Meanwhile, it was also learnt that leg-spinner Rashid Khan has also been picked by the Ahmedabad team. Pandya was dropped from the team since then and IPL 2022 is likely to witness his comeback over the 22 yards. Meanwhile, KL Rahul has reportedly been roped in as captain for the Lucknow team. Hence, it would be interesting to see who’ll be the initial picks of the two new IPL teams.

Rashid Khan

As per a report in India Today, apart from Pandya, the Ahmedabad franchise is also hoping to bring in legspinner Rashid Khan and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan into their fold. Rashid was released by his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad who chose to retain Kane Williamson, Umran Malik and Abdul Samad. Kishan was released by Mumbai Indians.

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan had shown a strong game for Mumbai Indians in the last season, although still he has been released from Mumbai. He has joined Ahmedabad’s IPL team. The top-order batting-wicketkeeper is young and has already played for the national side. Dynamic left-hand batsman Ishan Kishan penned down an emotional note thanking Mumbai Indians, and its fans for their support after the franchise released him.

Also Read: Ahmedabad finally choose Hardik Pandya as captain for IPL 2022

The 5-time champions announced their retentions ahead of IPL 2022 mega-auction: Rohit Sharma (16 cr), Jasprit Bumrah (12 cr), Suryakumar Yadav (8 cr), Kieron Pollard (6 cr) have been retained. Ishan Kishan played 45 for Mumbai since joining them in 2018, scoring 1133 runs at a strike rate of 138. Through his spectacular performances for MI, he was given his T20I and ODI debuts for India and made into India’s T20 World Cup squad.

“It’s been a journey that’s changed my life, professionally and personally. I’ve made friendships, grown as a player, person and I’m always grateful for the experience,” Ishan Kishan wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone at @mipaltan for all the love, support, and the memories And to the amazing fans, thank you for everything,” he added.