[Watch] Kumar Sangakkara receives grand welcome at the Royals Academy ahead of IPL 2022 Auction

Kumar Sangakkara has joined the Rajasthan Royals Academy in Nagpur ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction (Picture Credits: IPL).

Kumar Sangakkara, the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals (RR), has arrived in India ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction. Sangakkara joined the Royals Academy in Nagpur having flown down from Colombo on Wednesday (February 2).

In a video posted by RR on their Twitter handle, Kumar Sangakkara was seen receiving a grand welcome at the Royals Academy. A masked up Sangakkara was given a traditional welcome at the Academy before he checked into his room.

Sangakkara also caught up with Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket at RR and Jake Lush McCrum, the CEO of the franchise.

Take a look at the video posted by RR below:

🛫 Colombo 🇱🇰 - 🇮🇳 Nagpur 🛬

A special welcome for Sanga on his arrival at The Royals Academy. 💗

#RoyalsFamily | @KumarSanga2 https://t.co/wzuJGC2V0A

Sangakkara was appointed as the Director of Cricket at RR ahead of IPL 2021. In his capacity, Sangakkara is in charge of all cricketing operations at the franchise.

Kumar Sangakkara could be seen at the IPL 2022 Auction table

With Sangakkara flying down to India, it is likely that he will be spotted at the IPL 2022 Auction on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. The IPL's SOPs for overseas travelers mandates a seven-day isolation period ahead of the auction.

The Rajasthan Royals retained their skipper Sanju Samson, wicket-keeper Jos Buttler and uncapped opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the auction.

The Royals will be keen to build a solid team around this core when the bidding process takes place in Bengaluru.

Presenting ➡️ The first three Royals of #IPL2022. 👊🏼

#RoyalsFamily | @IamSanjuSamson | @josbuttler | @yashasvi_j https://t.co/CrCGqWviwj

As many as 590 players have been finalized to go under the hammer in the upcoming mega auction. The list includes 370 Indian and 220 overseas names.

England's Jofra Archer is also among the names included in the list. However, it is unlikely that the former RR pacer will be available for the 2022 season.