KL Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain since IPL 2022, is unlikely to be retained by the franchise and is set to enter the upcoming mega auction ahead of the 2025 season.
Will Rahul be among LSG's retained players? Does he not want to stay with the team? Will they keep him but not make him captain? These were some of the questions raised ever since LSG finished seventh in IPL 2024, after making the playoffs in their first two seasons.
Rahul is LSG's top-scorer across three seasons. He was the second highest run-scorer in IPL 2022 with 616 runs, before missing the second half of the 2023 season with an injury, but was once again LSG's top-scorer in 2024 with 520 runs. However, while the volume of Rahul's runs has always been high, his strike rate - which was 136.12 in IPL 2024 - has often come under scrutiny, especially as the league has seen much higher scoring rates in the last two seasons.
After LSG suffered a crushing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad last season, LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka was seen talking to Rahul animatedly on the field. Goenka's exchange with Rahul, which was seen on television, led to speculation over Rahul's future on the outside though the LSG owner is believed to have told the team that while he was disappointed by the manner of defeat against SRH, his chat with Rahul was amicable.
At an event in Kolkata in August to announce former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan as LSG's mentor, Goenka called Rahul "family" though he remained non-committal on player retention.
It is understood that during a meeting with LSG's owners recently Rahul had not committed to accepting if a retention offer was made. ESPNcricinfo has learned that a final decision will be taken in a few days.
October 31 is the deadline by when the ten franchises need to submit their lists of retained players to the IPL. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals.