Ahmedabad franchise picks Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Gill before IPL auction: Report

The Ahmedabad franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was bought by CVC Capital Partners, has reportedly picked Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill as their three picks before the IPL 2022 mega auctions. Reports claim that Hardik is all set to lead the new side after being released by the Mumbai Indians.

The Ahmedabad franchise has also finalised their coaching staff, with former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra and former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten set to share the responsibilities of head coach. Meanwhile, former England batter Vikram Solanki will be the team's director. This will be the second occasion when the trio of Nehra, Kirsten and Solani will be on the same side, having been together at Royal Challengers Bangalore previously.

Meanwhile, the IPL 2022 auctions, which will be held on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru, will finalise the teams ahead of the new season.

Ahmedabad franchise picked its players: Report

While both the new franchises have until January 22 to reveal the players they have picked ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, ESPN reported that the Ahmedabad team has already decided upon its players. As per the report by ESPN, the Ahmedabad franchise will sign Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan for Rs 15 crore, while Shubman Gill will be paid Rs 7 crore.

If these three players are picked, this will be the first time that Hardik and Rashid will play at the same franchise in the IPL, having previously represented the Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. The former Mumbai Indians all-rounder's rise has been spectacular, having been bought for just a mere Rs 10 lakh in 2015. Since then, he has established himself as one of the best utility players, with Mumbai having retained him as their second pick at the auction in 2018 by paying Rs 11 crore.

As for Rashid, it came as a huge surprise that Sunrisers Hyderabad did not retain him. The Afghanistan leg-spinner was bought in 2017 for Rs 4 crore before being retained the next year for Rs 9 crore. The 23-year old has surprisingly played all 76 games for the franchise since making his debut and has picked a staggering 93 wickets. Only Mumbai Indians' Jasprit Bumrah (104) has taken more wickets in the last five seasons.

Meanwhile, as for Gill, this will be the second team in the IPL that he will play at, having been picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 auction. It was unfortunate for the 22-year old not to be retained by KKR, who had several other stars that they were keener on retaining.