The 15th season of IPL is set to feature two new teams, making it a 10-team tournament. The bidding, in order to own the new teams, took place at the Taj Hotel in Dubai on October 27. The RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) and CVC Capital Partners (Irelia Company Pte Ltd) have therefore joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the new franchises, after winning the bids.
The RPSG group bought the Lucknow franchise with the bidding amount of INR 7090 crore while CVC paid INR 5625 crore to buy the Ahmedabad IPL franchise. In this article, we will discuss whom both these franchises might pick as their captain.
Here are the players which both the teams might target to rope in as the Captain of their respective sides. As a mega auction is set to be held before the next IPL season, these T20 stars are set to be released from their current sides and the new franchises might benefit from it.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith captained the Rising Pune Supergiants, which was also a Sanjiv Goenka-owned team, back in 2017. Given the fact that the team reached the final under his captaincy, the RPSG group might look to appoint Smith as the captain of the Lucknow franchise. Smith is currently in the Delhi Capitals squad, he hasn’t got a continuous run in the XI & will be in the auctions for the next season.
Suresh Raina
Being the biggest cricketer of Uttar Pradesh, Raina captaining the Lucknow side would be great for the team’s popularity. Suresh Raina has already captained the Gujarat Lions side from 2016-2017. The side also qualified for the play-offs under him. Having already captained a Gujrat-based franchise, the CVC Capital might also like to appoint Raina as the Captain.
Though he is the vice-captain of the Chennai side currently, there have been reports which suggest that the CSK management is planning to release him for the next season.
David Warner
The explosive Australian opener, David Warner, has confirmed that he won’t be playing for the Hyderabad side from the next season. The new franchises might therefore look forward to roping him in as the Captain of their respective sides. Warner already has an IPL trophy under his belt as a captain. He has captained the Hyderabad side for 4 complete seasons & has won the trophy for them in the year 2016.
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KL Rahul
As per reports, KL Rahul has requested the PBKS management to release him for the next season. It is very likely that both the new franchises will spare no effort to buy him. KL Rahul is an established T20 opener who leads the team from the front. He has been one of the top run-getters from the last couple of seasons where he has scored the bulk of runs for his side.
