Senior Indian batsman KL Rahul has expressed his desire to play the next season of IPL in the Lucknow Super Giants team. He recently met Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka and expressed his intention to retain him. However, the LSG boss has not given any such assurance regarding his retention. Former vice-captain of Team India, Rahul is no longer a part of the Indian team in the T20 format.Rahul took LSG to the play-offs in the first two IPL seasons (2022 and 2023), but Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship is considered to be the reason more than his contribution. This is because when Gambhir stepped down as mentor in 2024, the Lucknow Super Giants team was ranked seventh in the points table.
A member of the IPL Governing Council, who has knowledge of the developments at LSG, told news agency PTI on the condition of anonymity, ‘Yes, Rahul came to Kolkata and met Sanjiv Goenka at the RPG head office. He has clearly told Dr. Goenka that he wants to be retained. However, until BCCI comes out with a retention policy, the LSG management would not like to formulate or reveal its plans.
The source said, ‘Rahul wants to retain himself, but he cannot retain anyone until he knows how many are to be retained and what the new purse is.’ There has been no statement from LSG management regarding this meeting. Last year, after the crushing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rahul’s heated conversation with Goenka had gone viral. It seemed as if Goenka was not impressed with Rahul’s batting style and strategy. However, later both were also seen laughing and joking together.
If Royal Challengers Bangalore were serious about taking him back, he would not have come to Kolkata on his own will. It is believed that Rahul does not interest many franchises in his batting style, which is considered outdated in T20 cricket. Apart from this, his leadership in all the franchises he has represented has not been good at all.
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