It turns out, it wasn’t Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) that weren’t willing to retain their captain, KL Rahul, for the IPL 2025 season but rather the other way around. Last season, after a humiliating defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was seen chiding Rahul. The conversation seemed anything but warm, and there were rumours that KL Rahul was thinking of stepping down.
KL Rahul doesn’t commit to LSG
However, nothing of that sort happened. Then in August, both met and discussed the future, i.e., IPL 2025. LSG called a press conference soon after the meeting to announce a new mentor, Zaheer Khan. We heard rumours that Rahul would join his old franchise, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but that was it. Then, yesterday, we heard that LSG management feels it’s time to move on from KL Rahul.
While that could be true, it turns out that Rahul’s non-committal may have forced LSG to make such a move. According to ESPNcricinfo, in the meeting with Sanjiv Goenka, Rahul didn’t commit to accepting the retention if an offer was made by Lucknow.
LSG’s potential retentions
However, LSG haven’t taken the last decision on Rahul yet. Previously, it was suggested that they might bid for him at the IPL 2025 mega auction and won’t have an issue with having him back. Furthermore, Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav are expected to be their top three retentions, while Ayush Badoni and Mohsin are likely to be the uncapped players they chose before the retention deadline (5 PM, October 31).
LSG’s Current Squad
KL Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Arshad Khan, Matt Henry.
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