Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul is set to leave the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Rahul who led the franchise to playoffs in two out of three seasons was involved in an animated chat with the team’s owner Sanjiv Goenka after the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
As per a report by Dainik Jagran, while Goenka invited Rahul for dinner after the infamous incident, the equation between the two is not right ahead of the mega auction.
So far, it is not clear how many players a franchise will be able to retain ahead of the mega auction. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to decide on the retention policy at the end of July or in the first week of August in a meeting with representatives of all franchises.
How many IPL franchises has Rahul played for?
Rahul has been associated with four IPL franchises so far including LSG. While he was in SRH squad, in 2013, he made his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He played for RCB for four seasons and then was picked by Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab). Rahul led PBKS in 2020 and 2021 seasons. After a winning percentage of 44.44, he refused to get retained by the PBKS franchise and signed a deal with LSG. In the previous season, LSG failed to make it to the playoffs on the basis of net run rate (NRR).
RCB to rope in Rahul?
It is highly unlikely that RCB retain a 40-year-old Faf du Plessis as their captain. The Karnataka-born wicketkeeper-batter may be on RCB’s radar for the leadership role. Having Rahul and Virat Kohli in the top order will also help RCB have an extra spot for an overseas player in the playing XI.
Rahul played for RCB from 2013 to 2016. He scored 417 runs from 14 innings at an average of 37.90 including four half-centuries. His strike rate for RCB was 145.29. He earned his debut cap in limited-overs cricket for India on the basis of IPL performance.
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