IPL 2022: BCCI officially clears Ahmedabad franchise, Hardik Pandya likely to lead - Reports

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given the Ahmedabad franchise official clearance and the Letter of Intent (LOI) ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, media reports suggest.

Irelia Co. Pvt Ltd (CVC Capital Partners) bagged the Ahmedabad franchise for a bid of ₹5,625 crores. RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group acquired the second new team, Lucknow, for ₹7,090 crores.

RPSG received the LOI almost immediately, but CVC's clearance was delayed after questions were raised about the company's business interests in betting firms in the international market. This also prompted a postponement of the auction date, which has now shifted to the second week of February from early January.

After some strong negotiations, all issues stand clear now and the auction and cricketing season can go ahead.

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Hardik Pandya to lead Ahmedabad franchise, Ashish Nehra to be head coach

Media reports earlier suggested that former Delhi Capitals captain and Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is likely to lead the Gujarat-based team in IPL 2022. However, the latest developments indicate that Indian and former Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to lead his home franchise.

However, this new responsibility will come at a troublesome time for the 28-year-old. Since the T20 World Cup in the UAE, he has been sidelined from all international formats due to fitness and form issues. There's also increased competition for his spot, with Venkatesh Iyer and Shardul Thakur also in the mix.

It'll be interesting to see how he'll manage the massive role without much captaincy experience behind him.

Supporting Pandya will be former England cricketer and coach Vikram Solanki, who is likely to join the team as the Director of Cricket. He has played over 50 ODIs and three T20Is for England. Ashish Nehra, who represented India as a left-arm pacer and has also been a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise as bowling coach, is likely to be the new team's head coach.