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The Karnataka gang, namely Karun Nair, Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna, have checked-in to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) team hotel in Mumbai on Tuesday (March 15) ahead of IPL 2022.
All three cricketers were roped in during the mega auction last month in Bengaluru. The franchise shared a small clip where Karun, Padikkal and Krishna were spotted entering the team hotel.
While the other two cricketers arrived alone, Karun Nair was accompanied by his wife and six-month old child. RR captioned the video as:
"👋 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀 are here. 💗 #RoyalsFamily | #HallaBol."
While Karun and Prasidh joined Rajasthan Royals from Kolkata Knight Riders, Devdutt Padikkal was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season.
The veteran Karun Nair was acquired by RR for ₹1.4 crore while Prasidh Krishna and Paddikal fetched whooping ₹10 crore and ₹7.75 crore respectively.
The tall and lanky fast bowler, Prasidh, is expected to lead the pace attack while Padikkal, who lit up the IPL stage with breathtaking knocks in the last two seasons, is likely to open alongside Jos Buttler.
Karun, on the other hand, is expected to add experience to the middle-order which it has lacked in the last couple of years.
Lasith Malinga joins Rajasthan Royals as bowling coach
The IPL 2008 champions have appointed former Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga as their bowling coach for next season.
Malinga, a master of the craft, will hone the skills of the youngsters and support them to execute their plans to perfection. Speaking on the RR website, the 38-year-old said:
"It's a wonderful feeling for me to return to the IPL and an absolute honour to join Rajasthan Royals, a franchise that has always promoted and developed young talent."
He added:
"I am excited by the pace bowling unit we have going into the tournament and looking forward to supporting all the fast bowlers with the execution of their game-plans and their overall development."
Lasith Malinga, who called time on his career in 2021, was recently part of the Sri Lankan contingent during their tour of Australia.
Rajasthan will begin their IPL 2022 schedule against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 29 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
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