NEWS
Follow UsLucknow Super Giants were ready to offer KL Rahul the top retention bracket (INR 18 crore) ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 auction but the wicketkeeper-batter has decided to move on from the franchise due to "professional and personal reasons”, the Times of India reported on October 30 (Wednesday).
"LSG were ready to offer top retention bracket to Rahul, but Rahul eventually decided to move on due to personal and professional reasons," a source told TOI.
"At the moment, there are four franchises who have expressed their interest in him - Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. Expect all four to go hard for him in the auction.”
The Super Giants came into existence in 2022 and Rahul has been with the franchise since then. Lucknow made it to the playoffs in their first two seasons but finished seventh on the points table in the last edition of the tournament.
In these three years for LSG, Rahul scored 1410 runs in 38 innings at an average of 41.47 and a strike rate of 130.7. Last season, Rahul’s strike rate was again a point of conversation given the other openers in the tournament were scoring much quicker.
Rumours about a spat with owner Sanjiv Goenka also emerged after the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) last season, where the LSG owner clearly looked involved in a heated conversation with skipper Rahul.
Amidst the furore over the incident, which was first shown on TV and then went viral on social media, many news reports emerged about the opening batter reconsidering his future at the franchise. However, Goenka later clarified that there was no rift in the team and Rahul is “family”.
The Lucknow-based franchise is likely to retain tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav, ace leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Caribbean calypso Nicholas Pooran as capped players. Among the uncapped players, they would be going for Uttar Pradesh pacer Mohsin Khan and Delhi batter Ayush Badoni.
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