The Lucknow Super Giants looked to have finally made their call on players retention list for the IPL 2025 auction. According to ESPN Cricinfo report, Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi along with Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni as most likely to be retained for IPL 2025. KL Rahul's future now remains uncertain unless LSG decides to change decision at the last moment and retain him instead of other player.
The exact amount the five players have been signed up for is not yet known, but based on the retention slabs put in place by IPL, ₹51 crore will be deducted from LSG's purse. Pooran, 29, was bought by LSG ahead of the 2023 season for ₹16 crore Pooran's price tag has continued to soar since his maiden IPL season in 2017 when Mumbai Indians bought him for ₹30 lakhs.
KL Rahul's fallout with Sanjiv Goenka
The reason behind KL Rahul';s release is believed to be fallout with owner Sanjeev Goenka last season following the team's disappointing performance. While Goenka has cleared that Rahul would be retained, he did not give any updates regarding his captaincy. Last season LSG failed to advance to the playoffs under KL Rahul's captaincy. They finished in seventh place out of the 10-team table.
KL Rahul's IPL career
The wicketkeeper batter has amassed 4,683 runs in the cash-rich league over the years at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 134. His strike rate has been one of the key concerns as he hasn’t scored at a strike rate of over 140 since the 2019 IPL, hitting as low as 113 in 2023. The 32-year-old Karnataka born player scored 520 runs from 14 matches at an average of 37.14 and a strike rate of 136.13 in IPL 2024. He registered four 50-plus scores, whereas his highest score was only 82.
