"They've picked the right person" - Marcus Stoinis talks up 'calm-headed' KL Rahul for LSG captaincy in IPL 2022

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has thrown his weight behind team captain KL Rahul, saying owner Sanjeev Goenka has picked the right man for the job. The Australian assured that apart from bringing his batting nous to the team, Rahul can also "create a good environment" with his calm-headed leadership.

Stoinis was among the three pre-season draft picks for LSG alongside Rahul and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. He also stated Rahul, who was always a 'great' batter, is now being considered a "great leader" as well.

Stoinis said in an interaction with Boria Majumdar on the YouTube channel RevSportz.:

"Well KL's been, I assume he's the leading run-scorer in IPL over the last four years. When I knew him back at Kings XI [Punjab, now Pujab Kings], we knew he was a great player and I think the Indian cricket board and the Indian cricket team have seen that he's a great leader as well. And you've seen that in his promotion through the ranks in all formats."

Stoinis added:

"I think he's got a great reputation from already what I know about KL, we've known that as friends and as players. But I think one of the key things with him is the calm head on his shoulder. He's obviously got a lot of responsibility with this team and he's been trusted by Sanjeev and the whole organization. But I think they've picked the right person. His cricket speaks for itself but more importantly, he can create a good environment for the team."

KL Rahul recently saw a precipitous rise in the national team across formats. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) handed him the vice-captaincy in both ODIs and T20Is and was also chosen to step in for Virat Kohli during the Test series in South Africa last year.

While India see him as a future full-time captaincy candidate, Rahul hasn't seen much success in the IPL yet. The former Punjab Kings captain has lost more IPL matches than he's won - 15 losses from 27 games - with his win percentage currently reading at 44.44.

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KL Rahul-led LSG's full squad for IPL 2022

LSG were among the best teams at the IPL 2022 auction and managed to build a balanced squad.

Here's how they stack up for the upcoming season:

KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, Mark Wood, Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey, Ankit Rajpoot, Evin Lewis, Dushmantha Chameera, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Kyle Mayers, Manan Vohra, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav