IPL: Hardik to captain Ahmedabad; Rashid, Shubman are other picks
What's the story
Swashbuckling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been drafted by the Ahmedabad franchise for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). Ahmedabad acquired the services of Hardik for Rs. 15 crore and have also named him their skipper for the next edition. The other two picks for Ahmedabad are Rashid Khan, who has also been signed for Rs. 15 crore, and Shubman Gill.
Context
Why does it matter?
Ahmedabad have roped in Gill for Rs. 8 crore. Prior to joining Ahmedabad, Hardik was a key asset for the Mumbai Indians and won four IPL titles with them. However, Hardik was not retained by Mumbai as the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard were preferred over him. Hardik is currently also out of favor from the India team.
Information
The purse left for Ahmedabad franchise
Ahmedabad have spent Rs. 38 crore on acquiring the services of Hardik (15 crore), Rashid (15), and Gill (8) in their draft pick. They will now head into the IPL auction with Rs. 52 crore in their purse.
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Captaincy debut for Hardik
Hardik had never led any IPL side in the past and is set to make his captaincy debut with Ahmedabad. However, he was an integral member of the MI squad in the past since making his debut for them in 2015. He played 92 games for Mumbai and amassed 1,476 runs at 27.33 and a strike rate of 153.91, besides taking 42 wickets.
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Rashid and Gill's performances in the IPL
Rashid joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 for Rs. 4 crore and since then he was a regular in their playing XI. He played 76 games for Hyderabad and claimed 93 wickets. Gill joined Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 for Rs. 1.8 crore. He went on to play 58 games for them and scored 1,417 runs at 31.48 with the help of ten fifties.
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Ashish Nehra to lead Ahmedabad's coaching staff
Ashish Nehra, 42, is set to don the head coach's role for the CVC Capital Partners' owned franchise. He was previously associated with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Vikram Solanki has ended his head coach tenure with Surrey to join the team as their Director of Cricket. India's 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten has joined the team as mentor-cum-batting coach.
Statement
Gary Kirsten is looking forward to seeing Hardik as captain
"He's a young, new captain and he'll be motivated to come in, make a play and show what he's capable of at this level as a leader," Kirsten told Star Sports. "He's a great leader, high performer, and he's motivated. What I've heard, he's raring to go and get in the mix from a leadership perspective. That's very exciting for us," he added.