 "KL Rahul most likely will not play for Lucknow Super Giants next season in IPL. AP")
With the deadline for finalising retention lists by Indian Premier League (IPL) teams approaching, there are speculations about who will be retained. The latest report says that Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul will enter the IPL 2025 mega auction pool along with Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel instead of being retained by their respective franchises. The deadline for IPL teams to finalise their retentions list is 31 October.
“There has been a strong word going around that Rahul really wants to enter the mega auction, as LSG may not retain him. Based on the outcomes from various discussions in terms of who will be retained or what price the retentions would be, one shouldn’t be surprised if Rahul enter the auction list,” a source told news agency IANS.
Rahul wants to go in auction pool
Rahul, who has captained LSG since joining the franchise in 2022, has scored 1410 runs in 38 matches for the team. However, the report says that Rahul is likely to enter the mega auction pool instead of being retained by the franchise. The rumours of Rahul leaving LSG have been doing the rounds ever since the batter was seen having a word with Lucknow franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka in public after the team’s defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024.
Read: IPL 2025 mega auction likely to take place in Saudi Arabia
Goenka in August this year said that Rahul is like “family” but refused to confirm that the team will be retaining him.
“I don’t want to comment on speculation. All I will say is KL Rahul is family,” Goenka said on Wednesday, as per Revsportz.
“He (Rahul) has been there since the inception of Lucknow Super Gants. He’s led us for three years. I have gone on record before and I have no hesitation in saying this again that he wanted to win. KL is an important part of the Super Giants family. As far as retention is concerned, I don’t know. It’s not something I’m going to discuss now. That has to be confidential. There are three months to decide on this,” he told Cricbuzz.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRead: Mumbai Indians likely to retain Rohit Sharma
As per the latest retention rules laid out by the BCCI ahead of the IPL mega auction 2025, each IPL franchise can retain a maximum of six players through retention and RTM options. The six retentions can have a maximum of five capped players and a maximum of two uncapped players.
Jurel to bid goodbye to RR
The IANS report also states that Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batter Jurel is another capped Indian who could enter the auction pool after deciding against retention.
Jurel has played 27 matches for Rajasthan Royals since making his IPL debut in 2023. He has scored 347 runs at a strike rate of 151.53.