KL Rahul has reportedly been snubbed by his IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for retention ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are allegedly unlikely to keep captain and wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul for the upcoming T20 season.
The deadline for submitting the IPL 2025 retention list is October 31. The BCCI enables each team to keep up to five players, with the Right-To-Match option also available. There have been reports that numerous famous players may be available in the upcoming mega auction, which is scheduled for later this year.
There is rising concern regarding KL Rahul’s future with the Lucknow Super Giants. According to sources, Rahul did not obtain support from the LSG management before the retention deadline. The Indian cricketer is anticipated to leave LSG and pursue opportunities with other IPL teams.
KL Rahul To Be Released By Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul’s LSG failed to finish in the top four of the IPL 2024 season. LSG finished fifth, with seven victories from 14 matches. Rahul received criticism for his leadership, notably during a 10-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. He engaged in an animated conversation with franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka.
According to the Times of India, LSG mentor Zaheer Khan and coach Justin Langer examined KL Rahul’s performance the previous season. Zaheer and Langer considered that the wicketkeeper-batsman’s batting performance and lower strike rate were detrimental to the team.
“The LSG management, including mentor Zaheer Khan and coach Justin Langer, has analyzed his stats and it has emerged that the team has almost lost all matches where KL has batted long and scored runs. That indicates that his strike rate doesn’t match the momentum of the game. With the Impact Player rule, the scores are getting higher. You can’t afford to have someone taking so much time at the top of the order,” an IPL source told the Times of India.
KL Rahul has played 38 matches for LSG across three seasons and scored 1410 runs at a strike rate of 130.67. He has scored 2 centuries for LSG with a best score of 103* against Mumbai Indians. He has also scored 10 fifties for LSG.
Mayank Yadav sure retention by LSG
Mayank Yadav is likely to be retained by LSG. Mayank is certainly one of the franchise’s top three picks. However, LSG has not fully ruled out bidding for Rahul at the auction. The Super Giants may keep uncapped players like Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan.
Also Read: KKR To Ditch Shreyas Iyer For IPL 2025? Report Discloses Potential Retentions
