Quinton de Kock picked up by Lucknow Super Giants as their first signing of IPL 2022 Auction

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of two new teams in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), made their auction debut on Saturday. Although they did bid for a few players previously - Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Shami among them - they were forced to wait until Quinton de Kock's name to open their account.

Opening the bidding at De Kock's base price of INR 2 crore, LSG fought off competition from the Delhi Capitals, the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians (MI) to get the services of the South African for INR 6.75 crore. The opener and wicket-keeper has been an impact player in previous IPL seasons, and LSG would be thrilled to have his services at the top of the order.

LSG have already drafted Indian limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul, emerging spinner Ravi Bishnoi and big-hitting Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis prior to the auction. With the acquisition of De Kock, the RPSG Group-owned franchise has an enviable opening combination which might go on to dominate the season.

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Quinton de Kock had a middling 2021 IPL season

De Kock struggled for form in the 2021 IPL, with just two fifties in 11 games.

One of MI's most consistent players over the years, De Kock hit a rough patch in 2021, finding himself outside the team for a few games towards the end of the season. As the team collectively underperformed, he too recorded his lowest strike rate since his debut season - of just 116 - and could not get MI off to good starts in the powerplay.

However, the context for the 2022 IPL is likely to be different, with De Kock retiring from the longest format of the game and devoting his time to white-ball cricket. His strong returns in the three-match series against India recently should give LSG a lot of confidence for the upcoming IPL season.