In a major development, the new IPL franchise from Lucknow has signed KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi for the upcoming edition of the league, ESPNCricinfo reported on Tuesday (January 18).

According to the report, Rahul has been picked as Player 1 and he will be paid a whopping INR 15 crore in accordance with the established fees slab. On the other hand, Stoinis, who has been roped in as Player 2, will receive INR 11 crore while uncapped Ravi Bishnoi will get INR 4 crore.

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Spending a total of INR 30 crore on the aforementioned players has left the Lucknow-based team with INR 60 crore purse for the IPL 2022 mega auction, slated for next month.

As per the same report, Rahul will also be appointed captain of the Lucknow franchise, which was bought by the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group for a staggering INR 7090 crore last October.

Notably, Rahul has the experience of leading Punjab Kings in the IPL. He captioned PBKS in 2020 and 2021 editions but failed to take the side into the playoffs. The stylish batter was released by the Punjab franchise after he expressed his desire to change the team.

Stoinis, who started his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2015, has also turned up for Punjab and Bangalore franchises in the past, with Lucknow set to be his fourth IPL team. He was instrumental in DC’s journey to the playoffs in the last two seasons.

As for Bishnoi, the leg-spinner was bagged by Punjab in 2020 for INR 2 crore, and he left a mark instantly with a 12-wicket tally in his debut season. Bishnoi continued his brilliance in the 2021 season as well, returning with 12 scalps from 9 games.

(With ESPNCricinfo inputs)