Despite the third wave of Covid-19, BCCI is determined to conduct IPL 2022 Auction in Bengaluru on February 12, 13. With less than a month to go, all IPL 10 franchises including the two new entrants have been busy finalising the squad. Before the draft deadline, Ahmedabad and Lucknow have all but confirmed their picks while the existing franchises are getting ready for the mega auction.
Here is the full list of captains and likely captains of IPL 2022:
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK): 4-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will most probably see MS Dhoni as a captain who will lead the team for one last time. Dhoni was the second player to be retained by the franchise during the November retention. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was CSK’s first pick for Rs 16 crore, whereas Dhoni took a pay cut and settled for Rs 12 crore. The move also suggests that Jadeja will be in charge of the things once Dhoni opts to retire.
- Mumbai Indians (MI): 5-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) without an iota of doubt will lead IPL’s most successful franchise for the 10th successive time. Rohit Sharma was recently named the new white-ball captain of the Indian cricket team. MI have retained Rohit for Rs 16 crore.
- Delhi Capitals (DC): Rishabh Pant took the captaincy in the absence of injured Shreyas Iyer. A fit Iyer returned for the second leg, however, Pant continued as the captain. He lead the team to the playoffs and will be seen donning the captaincy cap again in the IPL 2022. Former captain Shreyas Iyer opted not to be retained by DC.
- Rajasthan Royals (RR): Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has been retained for Rs 14 crore by the Rajasthan Royals and will be seen leading the team again in the upcoming IPL 15.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Kane Williamson took over the captaincy from David Warner during IPL 2021. The 2016 champions retained Williamson for Rs 14 crore, while Warner was released.
- Punjab Kings (PBKS): Head coach Anil Kumble has confirmed that the franchise will like to build a team around Mayank Agarwal. The Karnataka star was the franchise’s top pick during the retentions as he got Rs 12 crore.
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): The 2-time champions are most likely to give the captaincy opportunity to West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell who was their first choice in retention. The hard-hitting batsman has shown loyalty to the franchise and spent 8 seasons with them so far. KKR released their captain Eoin Morgan and vice-captain Dinesh Karthik ahead of the mega auction.
- Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli has stepped down from the captaincy and AB de Villiers has retired from all forms of cricket. The Bangalore-based franchise has the major task of naming a captain who can lead the likes of Kohli and Glenn Maxwell. Australian all-rounder Maxwell was RCB’s second pick during the retentions and the franchise has a good captaincy candidate in him. Also, RCB could also eye someone like David Warner at the auctions, as he has a proven track record as a captain and also looks like an ideal overseas replacement of de Villiers.
- Lucknow: KL Rahul was bought for Rs 17 crore and will lead the team as its captain. Marcus Stonis & uncapped Ravi Bishnoi fetched Rs 9.2 crore & Rs 4 respectively,
- Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad IPL franchise is all set to announce Hardik Pandya (Captain), Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill as their three draft picks ahead of IPL 2022 Auction. But interestingly, Ahmedabad will pay Rs 15 crore each to both Hardik and Rashid while the former is going to lead the side. Shubman will be paid Rs 8 Crore.
