KL Rahul, Quinton De Kock ‘devastating opening pair’ for Lucknow Super Giants: Sunil Gavaskar

KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock will be seen in action when the Lucknow Super Giants take on the Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar said that the two could give the side flying starts throughout the 2022 season. 

Lucknow and Gujarat, the two new teams added to the IPL this season, feature several big names like KL Rahul, who captains the former, Hardik Pandya, Titans’ skipper, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami and Shubman Gill. 

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The Super Giants roped in South African wicket-keeper opener Quinton de Kock for Rs 6.75 crore. The 29-year-old comes to the side after spending three seasons with the Mumbai Indians. During his time there, he scored over 1000 runs, from 2019 to 2021, including 10 half-centuries. 

Gavaskar said that De Kock, who has led South Africa in the past, comes with captaincy experience and that is the best part. 

Speaking during a ‘Gameplan’ episode on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said, “The best part about Quinton de Kock is the fact that he also has captaincy experience. He has been a captain of South Africa and knows all formats of the game.”

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The Indian legend further added that him and Rahul make a left and right hnad combination, which is devastating.

“He knows what team building is all about because we are talking about a different team now. He will be very keen to contribute towards the team-building process. KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock’s right hand and left hand combination makes a devastating opening pair and they can get the team off to a flying start,” he added.

The Lucknow Super Giants also roped in the likes of Dusmantha Chameera, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson and Noor Ahmad. 

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Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (Captain), Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya. Jason Holder.