IPL 2022 Lucknow Super Giants preview: KL Rahul-led LSG will rely on strong Indian core to impress on debut – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

What does the introduction of IPL’s two new franchises tell us? For one, if you have the money, you can be part of the grandest show in world cricket.

Ever since they stepped in for two years with Rising Pune Super Giants, the RPSG Group has had a strong affinity towards this T20 league. And the team they built nearly won the title (Finished runners-up in 2017 edition of the league). The IPL will be worth an eye-watering six billion dollars as soon as the next media rights are sold, and it is worth shelling out for an IPL franchise in that sense, yes.

As and when the franchise auctions happened, there was an air of desperation about RPSG’s bid, and surely the numbers match it. They paid INR 7090 crore, which is approximately 920 million USD, or roughly nearly a billion USD to own the Lucknow team. Back in 2011, Sahara India had paid 370 million USD for the Pune Warriors franchise (now defunct), and 11 years later then, if RPSG is getting an IPL team for only three times the price, it is worth every penny. The proper financials behind it will only become clearer after the 2024-28 IPL rights’ cycle and the title sponsorship is sold off by the BCCI, and estimates are that RPSG have indeed hit the jackpot.

As per 2020 figures, RPSG Group has a turnover of INR 26900 crore, or roughly 3.6 billion USD. Paying off a billion dollars to own a piece of IPL action for perpetuity is the easy bit, then. The tougher part is to put a proper team on the field, and make sure it is successful year after year. Mumbai Indians have a lot of money, so do Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Two of those six teams have never won an IPL trophy. Money isn’t everything in this game as proven by Rajasthan Royals, but even money-ball tricks don’t buy you trophies, ask Punjab Kings.

But when you are a new franchise coming to a 14-year old party, there are always a few tricks that you can copy in an effort to gallop off at the races. Simply put, Lucknow have had 14 years of IPL history to study and get their act together, what to do and what not to do, how to navigate the IPL mega auctions, and what sort of formula to put together. Of course, it is not an exact science, and they have probably made a few errors.

For their first season though, let us try finding some positives. KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda, Shahbaz Nadeem and Avesh Khan – that is a heavy-duty Indian core of players at the heart of Lucknow Super Giants’ squad. In that they have copied what Mumbai, Chennai and, more recently, Delhi have done. Get a strong Indian core together, one that will play consistently together day in, day out, and build the remainder team around this group of players.

It starts with Rahul, of course. That he would leave Punjab Kings, for reasons known to most, was an open secret. Thereafter he found himself in a situation wherein at least three existing franchises (Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad) needed a long-term captaincy option, along with the two new incoming teams. He obviously didn’t want to tread on the steps of Virat Kohli or David Warner or even Dinesh Karthik/Eoin Morgan for that matter, and wanted a clean slate. From an individual perspective, moving to Lucknow was a smart decision for him.

Here, he is the alpha male and can shape the team as per his vision. Rahul will get a free hand to work the way he wants to, something he didn’t really enjoy at Punjab and that could be a crucial factor in how his captaincy shapes up with this new franchise. Bringing along the young leggie Ravi Bishnoi to Lucknow is being seen as a prime example, and already considered a long-term masterstroke given Bishnoi’s rising stock.

Rahul’s bigger challenge would be concerning the batting unit. Lucknow’s haphazard drafting strategy has meant that they might struggle to put together a proper line-up. They had options to draft the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan before the auctions happened, but instead opted to pick Marcus Stoinis for INR 7.5 crore. Assuming Kishan refused and entered the auction, Gujarat Titans picked Gill for INR 8 crore, and that could be an important miss for Lucknow who went for an overseas all-rounder instead.

Lucknow’s batting will revolve around Rahul undoubtedly, but which facet of him will we see this time around? For India, he bats with a certain freedom. Is it because he isn’t captain or because he has Rohit Sharma at the other end? At Punjab Kings, he batted with the weight of responsibility alongside Mayank Agarwal. Coach Andy Flower’s first order of business will be to liberate whatever is feeding on batter Rahul’s mind. Without an unburdened Rahul, Lucknow won’t get too far.

Beyond Rahul, Lucknow will be hoping Manish Pandey can regain his mojo. He is a veteran with 154 IPL games under his belt for a variety of franchises, and with 3560 runs, he is the 15th highest run-scorer in the IPL’s history. In fact, he has more IPL runs than Rahul (3273 runs in 94 matches). While it augurs well that Lucknow have procured two heavy run-getters of this tournament, the want of a balance in their line-up doesn’t go away.

In terms of the Indian batting pool, Lucknow has Hooda and Pandya to bolster their lower-middle order. Hooda is in contention for a World Cup spot, both ODIs and T20Is and this could be his big chance through a consistent run of games. Pandya can be a game-changer on his day, but can he perform outside the Mumbai Indians’ stable, confidence-enhancing ecosystem?

Along with Pandey and Rahul, they will heavily bank upon free-hitting foreigners Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis. It is a strategy fraught with danger, and again begs why they didn’t opt/go-in for another Indian top-order batsman, but what’s done now is done.

It further puts Stoinis’ draft purchase in the spotlight. Given the mega auction dynamics, they could have got his services for cheaper in a larger pool but Stoinis came in via draft instead. It puts great responsibility on a cricketer whose credentials may not be in doubt, but his fitness certainly is. And then there are availability issues – Stoinis will be playing in Pakistan and he won’t be available until April 15. Lucknow will have played five games by then.

The lack of proper overseas options is indeed a worrisome factor. Mark Wood was bought for INR 7.5 crore but he is out injured and then they have brought in Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani. He has an economy of 7.99 in T20Is, which is mostly against Associate Nations. Also, can he survive the high pressure environment of the IPL?

In terms of experience, Lucknow have Shahbaz Nadeem who is a champion left-arm spinner in the domestic circles. Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera provides that option in terms of pace. But who are their impact bowlers, really?

Along with Bishnoi then, much of the bowling responsibility will land on Avesh Khan’s shoulders. He has shown the wherewithal for Delhi Capitals, both at the beginning and at the death, and is again in contention for an Indian World Cup berth.

This is where Lucknow have bet big – a mix of current and prospective Indian names from the international arena, with a prayer and a wish that their mega investment pays off.

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