Lucknow
Super Giants. This is the name RP Sajiv Goenka group chose after asking for
suggestions from fans to name the new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
Lucknow is one of the two new entrants in the IPL 2022, which is likely to start in
March. RP Sajiv Goenka group, also the owner of ATK Mohun Bagan football club,
won the bid for Lucknow at a record sum of Rs 7090 crore ($940 million) in
October last.

Also Read: IPL 2022: From David Warner to Yuzvendra Chahal, five players to look out for in mega auction

KL
Rahul has been named captain of the franchise last week. The Lucknow Super
Giants bought Rahul for Rs 17 crore ($2.28 million approx.), the joint-highest
fee paid to a player in IPL.

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This
is not the first time the RP Sanjiv Goenka group owns a franchise in the IPL.
Earlier, they had acquired a franchise in Pune for IPL 2016 and 2017 – when
RPSG and Gujarat Lions replaced the suspended Chennai Super Kings and the
Rajasthan Royals. They had then called their franchise the Rising Pune Super
Giants, later changing the name in 2017 to Rising Pune Supergiant after the
franchise failed to qualify for the playoff in the 2016 season.

The naming of the new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, has been widely discussed on the internet and it received mixed reactions.

Also Read: IPL 2022 from March last week to May, mega auction on Feb 12-13: Jay Shah

Apart
from captain KL Rahul, the team has also signed Australia’s star all-rounder
Marcus Stoinis and uncapped leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.

Also Read: IPL 2022 auction to be held in Bengaluru on February 12, 13

While Stonis will be paid
Rs 9.2 crore ($ 1.24 million approx.), a sum of 10 crore will be deducted from
the franchise’s overall auction purse as per the IPL rules. Bishnoi meanwhile
will be paid Rs 4 crore (USD 0.54 million approx.), which was the baseline
price set by the IPL for uncapped Indian players. The franchise will
consequently have a purse of Rs 59 crore at the two-day auction, which is
scheduled in Bengaluru between February 12 and 13.

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Former
Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower has been appointed head coach of the franchise
while Gambhir is the mentor. Vijay Dahiya is the assistant coach.