Lucknow IPL Franchise gets BCCI virtual clearance - players, logo & much more to be unveiled soon

Dear Lucknowites, your own IPL team spins towards reality with parent company Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group gets virtual clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. As per reports, the formal clearance and the Letter of Intent (LoI) will be handed to the team during the Governing Council meeting slated on January 11.

Once the team bags this, they will be officially permitted to introduce themselves into the T-20 cricket league. Notably, the Ahemdabad franchise is also on the same page and is presently awaiting its LoI.

Lucknow IPL team prepares for debut in Season 15

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While the Lucknow Team has announced that Gautam Gambhir, Andy Flower and Vijay Dhaiya are on the coaching board, not much has been revealed about the players. Though stirring speculations hover around one particular name, KL Rahul, amid all the IPL Shenanigans, it must be noted that the BCCI has not yet given the formal go-ahead to the team to sign players entitled for recruitment outside the auction.

As of the present plan of action, both Lucknow and Ahmedabad IPL Teams will be given two weeks to sign such players. All discussions regarding this, the wild-card entry of teams in the upcoming Season 15 and player auction will be addressed during the Governing Council meeting on Tuesday. The final time period to sign players will be revealed only after this.

The BCCI has marked February 12 and 13 as the tentative auction dates but has not ruled out the option of postponing it by a week. The official schedule will be under the meeting review too, added reports. Dates will be made public after the GC meeting.

What should the Lucknow IPL team be called?

Meanwhile, the Lucknow franchise has not left any stone unturned to keep the excitement cruising among fans. Only a week ago, the debutant IPL team announced its arrival on social media platforms, giving the city dwellers a chance to connect with the team. All profiles, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have implored the people to suggest titles for the yet unnamed team, in a bid to keep the buzz alive.

Amidst all the frenzy, word has it that players like Ravi Bishnou, Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis are presently under the Goenka Radar. As already informed, none of the names has been announced officially but the wait is surely not long anymore!