Not CSK or MI! Aakash Chopra impressed with new franchise for superb show at IPL 2022 mega auction

The IPL 2022 mega auction was a star-studded two-day affair, which took place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. The ten IPL franchises took part in the auction proceedings with an aim to build their respective squads. The two new IPL teams -- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT) -- had a tougher task indeveloping a formidable unit from scratch.

Talking about the KL Rahul-led LSG franchise, they impressed one and all with their smart buying skills. Heading into the mega auction with INR 590 million -- after acquiring the services of Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi -- the Sanjiv Goenka-owned team roped in some big names as well as plenty of youngsters in the mega auction.

Lucknow roped in the likes of Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, Mark Wood, Evin Lewis, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey, etc. to form a strong line-up before the upcoming season, set to be held in March-May. Thus, the new franchise impressed many, including former Indian opener-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra.

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Lucknow's shopping at the mega auction was rated highly by many, with some terming it better than veteran franchises Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI), etc., as they were left with not a single penny in their purse. Thus, Chopra has lauded the new IPL team.

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Chopra said on his Youtube channel, "I have given the Lucknow Super Giants the second-most numbers. I have given them 9/10. First, they spent all the money they had; even one rupee was not left. They are phenomenal; how can someone do it with so much precision. They bought 21 players, and there are some outstanding buys.

“They had Rahul, Stoinis and Bishnoi. If you have Stoinis, you think if you can get Jason Holder. Generally, teams think if they can get Stoinis or Mitchell Marsh or Jason Holder. You don't get all three together, they have got two already,” he explained further.

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"In Quinton de Kock, you have got a player who is 29 years old, and plays just white-ball cricket. You got him for 6.75 crores; he will open and hit, and he is left-handed. Phenomenal buy. You see Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda, and then you think Rahul Tewatia, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi - they were all expensive; Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda seem to be a steal. After that, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya and Jason Holder. They also have Krishnappa Gowtham. No team has so many all-rounders. I mean go to this team if you want to make a list of multi-faceted cricketers," Chopra added.

Complete squad of Lucknow SG:

KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Manan Vohra,Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, K Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav