New Delhi: It’s no more a secret that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will not retain KL Rahul ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. The star Indian batter is set to head into the auction and will be looking for a new team as he parts ways from LSG. While many believe, it was LSG’s decision to not keep Rahul, a fresh report in the Times of India has made an explosive claim.
As per the report, Lucknow Super Giants offered Rahul to become their top retention bracket of Rs 18 crore to Rahul. However, the batter didn’t want to stay with the franchise and decided to move on due to “personal and professional reasons”. Rahul had met LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka at his Kolkata office in August this year to discuss his future.
The meeting didn’t seem to have yielded any result as speculations were rife after the meeting that Rahul would not continue as the team’s captain even if he were to be retained. Reports later claimed that LSG were set to part ways with their captain and would not retain him at all. An LSG source revealed it was the Indian batter’s decision to not continue with the franchise.
“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 was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
RCB, CSK interested in KL Rahul
Rahul is set to be in demand at the IPL 2025 mega auction as he is not only one of the premier Indian batters available in the pool but also offers captaincy skills. Rahul has led Punjab Kings and LSG in his IPL career so far and can be a potential candidate for many teams, who will be looking to fill the leadership position in their squads.
As per TOI, as many as four teams have expressed interest in securing Rahul’s services at the mega auction. The likes of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) are the teams expected to go all out for Rahul at the auction. While RCB are the favourites to land their former player, CSK and GT need a wicket-keeper and might go after the Team India star.
