IPL 2022: KL Rahul gives you 3 things, no brainer for Lucknow to pick him as captain - Gautam Gambhir
India Today
IPL 2022: Lukcnow Indian Premier League franchise paid Rs 17 crore to sign India batting star KL Rahul as their captain for the new season. They also drafted in Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi.
Former India opener and newly-appointed mentor of Lucknow Indian Premier League franchise, Gautam Gambhir said appointing KL Rahul as their captain was a no-brainer. Gambhir said Rahul brings a variety of elements to the table and his track record as a batter is next to none in the IPL.
The Lucknow franchise, owned by RPSG Group, on Friday, announced KL Rahul as their captain, signing the India star for Rs 17 crore. Rahul, who was leading Punjab Kings for the last 2 seasons, decided to move away from the former finalists who did not retain him before the IPL 2022 auction.
Rahul has been a prolific run-getter in the IPL, scoring 3273 runs in 94 matches at a staggering average of over 47. Rahul has scored more than 550 runs in each of the last 4 IPL seasons even as his captaincy is being looked at as a work in progress.
"No brainer when it comes to KL Rahul, not just as a batter but as a leader as well. Obviously, it's a work in progress, but he gives you three things -- he opens the batting, he can keep wickets and he is a phenomenal white-ball batter, his consistency and his run-scoring has been phenomenal when he has played for Punjab and other franchises and what better than having someone who gives you 3 things," Gambhir told Star Sports IPL Selection Day.
Meanwhile, Lucknow paid Rs 9.2 crore to get Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and Rs 4 crore for India's uncapped leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Incidentally, all 3 players were part of the Punjab franchise at some point in the past.
Explaining the decision to pick Stoinis as one of the pre-auction selections, Gambhir said uncertainty over the availability of Ben Stokes forced them to go for the Australian all-rounder.
"Marcus Stoinis is a beautiful finisher. We were not 100 percent sure whether Ben Stokes was going to be in the auction or not, so there were not too many quality all-rounders. Plus Stoinis can bat in the middle order and can finish off the game as well," Gambhir said.
