Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to part ways with their captain KL Rahul ahead of the announcement of retained players. Earlier Sports Tak reported that Nicholas Pooran, pace sensation Mayank Yadav and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi are set to be three players retained by the franchise. A few days ahead of the deadline, LSG are set to retain two uncapped players.
Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan and explosive young batter Ayush Badoni are two uncapped players the Lucknow-based franchise will retain as per a report by ESPNCricinfo. They can be retained for Rs 4 crore reach.
However, this means that LSG will go into the IPL mega auction with Rs 69 crore until and unless they want to pay more to the players.
Badoni, Mohsin’s IPL 2024 numbers
Badoni played all 14 matches at the league stage and scored 235 runs at an average of 29.37 and strike rate of 137.42. He scored two half-centuries.
Left-arm pacer Moshin claimed 10 wickets from as many games. His economy rate of 10.13 was not impressive compared to a stellar debut season in IPL 2022 where he conceded at 5.96 runs per over.
No place for Rahul?
With Pooran being the captaincy candidate, LSG are unlikely to retain Rahul. The franchise may exercise Right to Match (RTM) card for him.
There were also reports that LSG may use the RTM card for Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis. He scored 388 runs from 14 games in the previous season at an average of 32.33. He scored an unbeaten 124 in a successful run chase. His strike rate was impressive at 147.52.
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LSG’s IPL run so far
In their maiden season, they reached the qualifiers. In IPL 2023, Rahul got injured midway through the season but Krunal Pandya led them to the qualifiers. In IPL 2024, they missed out on the qualifiers spot as they had inferior net run rate (NRR). Their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) led to a fallout with team owner Sanjiv Goenka who lashed out at Rahul after the game.
