Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya will likely be the captain of the new Ahmedabad franchise for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to sources.

The all-rounder had served Mumbai Indians ever since the first IPL was held in 2015. He was not retained by the 5-time IPL winners ahead of the upcoming mega auctions for the tournament.

As per procedure, the player would get picked by one of the two new franchises, Lucknow or Ahmedabad, or would be part of the auction pool. 

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If the reports about his captaincy are true, this will be the first time he will lead a team in the T20 league. 

The former Mumbai Indians cricketer, who hails from Baroda in Gujarat, was released from the Mumbai Indians team, which instead went for Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard, according to a report by India Today. 

The news about the reported development emerged with a tweet from journalist K Shriniwas Rao. “Hardik Pandya will be the captain of the brand new Ahmedabad franchise (not Shreyas),” wrote the journalist in a tweet.”

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Earlier, it had been reported that Delhi Capitals player Shreyas Iyer will lead the team.

Rao also revealed in the tweet that sportsman Rashid Khan has also been picked by the Ahmedabad team. “They’re getting Rashid Khan on board too,” he wrote.

There is also speculation that the former India player Ashish Nehra would likely be the head coach of the Ahmedabad franchise, which is owned by CVC Capital. Nehra had retired from international cricket in 2017, and had also worked as the assistant coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

Meanwhile, former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra is likely to come on board as the head coach of the Ahmedabad franchise. Nehra, who retired from international cricket in 2017, had previously worked with Royal Challengers Bangalore as their assistant coach.

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The younger Pandya brother made his IPL debut with Mumbai in 2015. He played a key role in their title-winning campaigns in 2017, 2019 and 2020. However, in the 2021 edition of the league, the Baroda cricketer failed to live up to his reputation. After sustaining an injury, he did not bowl for the side. With the bat, Pandya recorded a strike rate of only 113.39, scoring 127 runs in 12 appearances.

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KL Rahul is expected to lead the Lucknow team, owned by RPSG Group with a bid of Rs 7090 crore.