IPL 2022: Rating Team Lucknow's player signings

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be heading to Uttar Pradesh for the first time as Team Lucknow joins the existing eight franchises in the cash-rich league. Although the franchise, owned by the R. P. Sanjiv Goenka Group, is yet to announce its official name, news has come out regarding the three player signings permitted for new franchises prior to the IPL auction.

Team Lucknow has gone for two former Punjab Kings players in opening batter KL Rahul and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, as well as Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis. Rahul is set to lead the franchise, commanding a fee of INR 15 crore, while Stoinis and Bishnoi will be paid INR 11 crore and INR 4 crore respectively. According to the rules of the auction, each franchise is entitled to a total purse of INR 90 crore, which means Team Lucknow will be able to spend INR 60 crore in the auction.

Not all the signings by the team were initially anticipated, with Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi trumping the likes of David Warner, Shreyas Iyer and Krunal Pandya to earn lucrative contracts. Here are the ratings out of 10 for Team Lucknow's player signings.

#1 KL Rahul - 9.5/10

KL Rahul's signing coincides with his growing stature in Indian cricket.

India's limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul was picked up by the Lucknow franchise as a captain, opener and possibly a wicketkeeper, depending on how the auctions pan out. Rahul, who has dominated the IPL for the past four seasons with bat in hand, couldn't quite oversee a Punjab march to the playoffs and will thus hope that a new team brings along a change in fortunes.

Rahul's signing by Lucknow, beating competition from the Ahmedabad team, is a huge win for the franchise. Not only is the 29-year-old in excellent form across formats of the game, but his growing stature within the national team means the team benefits hugely in terms of interest from fans and the cricketing community.

Team Lucknow will hope Rahul can use his captaincy experience from the Punjab Kings and India to inspire the team to playoff qualification.

#2 Marcus Stoinis - 7.5/10

Marcus Stoinis can change the game with bat and ball.

One of the key reasons for the Delhi Capitals' maiden final appearance in IPL 2020, Australian seam-bowling all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is a good buy for the new team.

With seam-bowling all-rounders perpetually in high demand in the league, it is quite likely that Stoinis would have gone for more than INR 11 crore in the auctions. The Western Australian also played a good hand in Australia reaching the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 final, which they eventually won.

Unfortunately, the IPL has not been a happy hunting ground for the 32-year-old. Since his debut in 2016, Stoinis has picked up 30 wickets and scored 914 runs from 56 games, with 13 wickets taken and 352 runs scored in the 2020 season alone.

While he is a multi-utility cricketer capable of opening the innings if needed, Stoinis does not have the IPL numbers to show that he can make a consistent impact for his team.

#3 Ravi Bishnoi - 8/10

Team Lucknow may have gotten young Bishnoi at a steal of a price.

One of the Punjab Kings' best bowlers in the past two years, young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi earned an IPL contract off the back of his performances in the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup. Strangely left out of the side for the first part of IPL 2021, Bishnoi made a strong statement upon his return to scalp 12 wickets in nine games.

Given the dearth of high-quality leg-spinners who are proven performers in the IPL, Bishnoi's signing at INR 4 crore is a smart one. The 21-year-old is a budding talent who will only improve even further, and while he hasn't quite set the stage alight in the IPL, he has shown the ability to turn games single-handedly for his team.