Two New Teams in the Mix
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League will boast a couple of new franchises in addition to the existing 8 teams. The two teams under discussion are: Gujarat based Ahmedabad, and Uttar Pradesh based Lucknow. Both the teams have not officially announced their franchise names as they are yet to receive their Letter of Intent (LOI) from BCCI.
Ashish Nehra back to Coaching Duties
The Ahmedabad franchise has reportedly roped in Ashish Nehra to be its Head Coach. Although he has had experience being a part of the coaching staff, this will be Nehra’s first stint at the high-profile job role.
The former Indian player was the bowling coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. During his spell, RCB finished in 6th and 8th positions, respectively.
After the end of the 2019 campaign, the 42-year-old Ashish Nehra decided that he would only return to coaching if he gets the head coach profile where he can make an impact on the team, with both strategy and squad composition. Looks like he got exactly what he asked for.
Vikram Solanki to be the Director of Cricket; Gary Kirsten in Mentorship Role
Solanki, former England opener, will be at the helm of cricket operations for the new franchise. He’s currently the Head Coach of Surrey County Cricket Club and seems to be equipped for the new responsibility.
Kirsten, who will be Ahmedabad’s mentor, shares a good rapport with Nehra as they worked together at RCB as part of the coaching staff. Their working relationship has been a long and fruitful one as they have been involved with each other since Nehra was playing for India and Kirsten was the national coach.
Work to be done at the Auction.
The franchise, owned by British equity firm CVC Capitals, has been working backstage to recruit a capable think tank ahead of next month’s mega auction. Nehra and co have just over a month to strategize for the event and build a new team from scratch.
The two new teams have the option to negotiate and sign up to 3 players into their squad before heading into the auction. Ahmedabad has not yet announced its signed players and will be looking to finalize the signings as soon as possible.
The auction never pans out the way people expect it to. There’s always an element of surprise and buzz about it. With 10 teams going for it this year, the mega event will be a treat to IPL and cricket fans.
Mark your calendars for the 12th and 13th of February. It all starts with the auction.
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