IPL 2025: KL Rahul is one of the two captains of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) since IPL 2022, and the franchise can ill afford to retain him, which shall clear the path to his entry into the mega auction before the 2025 season.
Speculation On Rahul’s Retention
Questions have risen over Rahul’s future with LSG: Will he be among the retained players? Does he even wish to remain with the side? Or will he remain, and lose captaincy? All this vagueness appears to have been heightened by finishing seventh in IPL 2024 for LSG after having playoff appearances in the first two seasons in the fray.
Statistics Of Rahul
Throughout his three-year tenure with LSG, Rahul remained the team’s top run-getter. He was the second-best run-getter in IPL 2022 with 616 runs but missed the entire half of IPL 2023 due to injury. In IPL 2024, he was once again the top run-getter with 520 runs.
Also Read: IND Vs NZ, 2nd Test: Washington Sundar’s Stunning 7-Wicket Haul Stuns New Zealand In Pune!
While his run number is nice and good, his strike rate of 136.12 in IPL 2024 was a talking point, especially when the rest of the league has improved in scoring in each of the last three seasons.
Owner’s Disappointment And Further Conversations
A crushing loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad last season did seem to change the fortunes of LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka with Rahul on the field. This very exchange has already sparked up questions about Rahul’s future, but sources have said that Goenka did express his disappointment with the loss but kept the conversation amicable with his skipper.
August saw Goenka announcing former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan as the mentor of LSG at an event in Kolkata, dubbing Rahul “family,” but on the issue of player retention, he remained non-committal.
Recent Meetings And Decision Timeline
Reports also suggest that Rahul refused to commit to the owners of LSG during a meeting whether he would accept a retention offer if presented. The final word on his status is likely to come out soon since the lists of retained players need to be submitted by October 31.
In terms of retention, teams can retain six players ahead of the mega auction and they are allowed to retain up to five capped internationals among them.
