Ahead of IPL 2022, among the most talked about things is how the newly formed teams will do. This season has seen two new teams included, with Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans making it a ten-team roster for the IPL.
While the Lucknow side is led by India’s KL Rahul, the Gujarat franchise is captained by Hardik Pandya. At Lucknow, former India opener and KKR captain Gautam Gambhir is the team mentor while former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower will be the head coach.
Lucknow made some very smart buys at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, and will be keen understandably be keen to have a good showing in their maiden year. The likes of Quinton de Kock, Avesh Khan and even Evin Lewis, will also be eyeing the T20 World Cup later in the year.
So, who are the players to watch out for in the Lucknow side in IPL 2022?
KL Rahul warming up before the game.
Image: BCCI
KL Rahul
The captain of the franchise, Rahul will be hoping that he has better luck at Lucknow than what was the case with the Punjab Kings side before this. While Punjab didn’t do too well in the recent seasons as a team, Rahul scored bagfuls of runs in the red jersey, and will be keen to keep that up.
Last season, Rahul was among the best batters in the tournament scoring 626 runs in 13 games at the top of the order for the Punjab Kings. An injury has unfortunately kept him away for a bit, but it would have also allowed him some rest in the otherwise busy calendar. Expect him to come out all guns firing, again at the top of the order as he looks to keep build some good momentum in a T20 World Cup year, where he will be an important part of the Indian team.
Avesh Khan
One of the stars or finds of the IPL last season when he was with the Delhi Capitals, Avesh Khan’s prowess with the ball left everyone quite pleased, the opposition batters though might disagree. In 16 games, he bagged 24 wickets and will hope to repeat the same form again this year, although with another team.
Fast, accurate and with a happy habit of picking wickets at crucial moments in the game, Avesh had been an absolute asset for the Ricky Ponting coached Delhi side, which eventually led to him getting a call-up for the national team as well.
One of the most sought after players in the IPL Auction this time, Avesh’s career graph has been moving in the right direction and like most players who are part of IPL 2022, he too will be keen on a good performance ahead of the World Cup. Will he able to repeat his act from last season?
Quinton de Kock
Likely to be KL Rahul’s opening partner in the line-up, the South African will be needed to be at his dynamic best for the franchise if they’re to have a good season. In the Mumbai Indians colours, de Kock was a crucial cog in the wheel, opening the batting and helping the team get off to a good start with Rohit Sharma at the other end.
In 77 IPL matches, he has more than 2200 runs to his credit. He has scored a hundred as well along with 16 half-centuries. The South African’s also had a rough time in the national colours in the last year or so and will look to put that behind with a good season. If the southpaw does come good, then most teams and bowlers will be in for a bit of trouble.
Ravi Bishnoi
One of the players picked ahead of the IPL Auction by the Lucknow franchise, the young leg-spinner caught the eye of the cricketing world in the 2019 U-19 World Cup when he finished with 17 wickets in 6 games. And since then, he has not looked back.
Bishnoi after that was picked up by the Punjab Kings and was mentored by the legendary Anil Kumble, becoming a crucial part of the attack in the IPL for them in the last two seasons. In 23 games, Bishnoi has picked 24 wickets so far and is known to keep batters from getting big runs and boasts of an economy rate of 6.97.
He recently made his debut for India also, putting in some solid performances against the West Indies side. Another advantage that works for him, is that he is a good fielder.
Jason Holder:
One of the better all-rounders in the game right now, Jason Holder is a solid bet with the bat and the ball for his side. He was picked up for INR 8.75 crore by Lucknow and the former Windies skipper is one of the best T20 players in the world. He had produced several match-winning performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad last season but his contributions hardly made any difference for the side as he made a late entry to the tournament.
For LSG, he can do wonders with the ball in death overs and could play the finisher’s role whenever required. Understandably, he will also want to build some momentum ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
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