The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to begin in a few months time and this season is going to be a bigger one as two new franchises are set to join the fray in a bid to fight for the trophy. Lucknow Super Giants and Ahmedabad are the two new teams set to make their debut in the 15th edition of IPL. 

All the 10 franchises have already named their retention list ahead of the mega auction that is set to be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. 

Virat Kohli, who captained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for nine years, had relinquished the skipper’s role in the IPL after stepping down as captain of the Indian team in the T20I format. 

You’ve been an inspiration and a leader par excellence. Thank you for taking Indian cricket forward like only you could have.

Thank you for the memories, King! You’ll always be our Captain Kohli. #PlayBold #TeamIndia #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/M9n9Dl3iCq

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 15, 2022

RCB retained their former skipper but they would want to rope in a leader at the mega auction in a few weeks time. Chennai Super Kings will be captained by MS Dhoni but it might be his last season and the team management would be looking to pick his potential successor so that he gets to rub shoulders with Dhoni before taking the franchise forward from next season onwards.

Proven leaders in the league like David Warner, Shreyas Iyer and Eoin Morgan will be up for grabs as all the 10 IPL teams will fight it out at the auction table to get the best possible squad for their franchise. 

Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Ahmedabad have announced their captains ahead of the IPL mega auction but other teams are still in search of a leader and with this being a mega auction, we could see some crazy bids being made at the auction table. 

𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙜𝙖 𝘼𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

A bidding war on the cards

Here are the Marquee Players at the #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/lOF1hBCp8o

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 1, 2022

Here are the teams who will be on a lookout for a potential captain at the upcoming mega auction.

Royal Challengers Bangalore View this post on Instagram

With Kohli stepping down as the captain of the RCB franchise, the team will be looking to hire a player who can take them forward in the league. Opening batter David Warner, who has won an IPL title with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the past, and young Shreyas Iyer who led Delhi Capitals to the final in the 13th edition could be on the minds of RCB as they prepare strategies for the mega auction. 

It was Warner’s SRH who denied Kohli his first IPL title in 2016 as the defeated RCB in the final by eight runs in a high-scoring summit clash. If RCB gets Warner, we might get to see Warner and Kohli open the batting for their side and that promises to be an extraordinary combination.

Chennai Super Kings View this post on Instagram

CSK’s talismanic skipper MS Dhoni had cleared the air over his ability for the 15th edition of the IPL. The former India skipper also mentioned that he wishes to play his final IPL game at Chepauk.

Dhoni’s last season with the bat wasn’t a good one and he himself knows that the upcoming season could be his last as a CSK player. The Chennai-based franchise might go shopping for a youngster like Shreyas Iyer who has the leadership qualities and age on his side. To top it all, he will be groomed by one of the most successful captains in Indian cricket’s history MS Dhoni. 

SunRisers Hyderabad

We thank the players for their contribution to SRH over the years. This is not a goodbye, as we hope to welcome back some Risers in the auction #ForeverOrange pic.twitter.com/imZmqNCpIm

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) November 30, 2021

SRH retained Kane Williamson, who was named captain after they sacked David Warner as their leader, ahead of the mega auction. However, Williamson’s own performances were below par as he scored just 266 runs in 10 matches. 

The team finished at the bottom of the points table after just three wins from 14 matches. They would be looking for an alternate for Williamson if the Kiwi star’s own performance dip during the course of the tournament.

Punjab Kings

𝙻𝚊 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊! pic.twitter.com/qqcHvpoH8L

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) October 9, 2021

KL Rahul left Punjab Kings after leading the side for two seasons without tasting any success. Under his leadership, Punjab Kings twice failed to reach the playoffs in the league. Rahul has been appointed as the captain of the new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants and that leaves Punjab Kings without a leader. 

The Punjab-based franchise have the biggest purse among all the 10 teams for the upcoming mega auction and they are expected to go all out for a player whom they feel could lead their side to their maiden IPL title. 

Kolkata Knight Riders

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 @Eoin16 #KKR #IPLFinals #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/Qvlf09aWhH

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 14, 2021

Eoin Morgan struggled with the bat throughout the last IPL season but he did manage to take KKR to the playoffs. However, the Kolkata-based franchise decided against retaining him ahead of the mega auction. 

KKR would be looking to get the services of a leader who can go on to help the team lift the trophy for the third time in their history.

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