The Indian international KL Rahul is considered to be one of the best batters in the country and with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction approaching, several franchises are likely to show an interest in the player.
Rahul is currently a part of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise; however, his future is not yet certain as the team has not decided on the potential retentions for next season.
While the player expressed his interest in being retained, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka suggested that the franchise will make a decision once the BCCI confirms the IPL retention rules.
"Look, I've been meeting KL regularly over last three years. I'm a little surprised this meeting got so much attention. As I've said we have not taken any call till the retention rules are out," Goenka told reporters during an event where Zaheer Khan was unveiled as the team's mentor.
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"But KL has been an integral and important part of the LSG family since inception. He's played a very important role. He's like family and will be family," he added.
In this article, The Sporting News looks at three teams that could potentially target KL Rahul, if LSG opt to release him ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
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Teams which might buy KL Rahul if LSG release him ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction
KL Rahul who served as LSG's captain since its debut in the IPL 2022, has produced only mixed results.
Under his captaincy, the team reached the playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons but the 2024 season was a disaster as they finished seventh in the points table.
While LSG owner Goenka did not rule out the chances of the franchise retaining Rahul, his reluctance to outrightly declare his confidence in the latter as a leader of the team, shows that they are not fully intent on continuing with him as the first-chpice captain.
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In the scenario that LSG opt to release him ahead of the upcoming mega auction, here are three teams that could benefit from acquiring Rahul's services:
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
RCB is likely to move on from the strategy of appointing a foreign player as a captain in the upcoming season as it complicates team selection during the tournament.
There are reports that the franchise might be on the lookout for an Indian player as the captain.
The Karnataka-born Rahul is likely to fit in as an ideal choice for this role as he has not only represented the franchise previously as a youngster, but he could also directly replace Faf du Plessis at the top of the order.
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Punjab Kings (PBKS)
It is not clear if Rahul and the Punjab franchise parted ways last time around on bad terms, however, if available, the team will look to convince him to return back to the franchise.
With the retirement of Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab will be on the lookout for an experienced top order batter who can also take over the leadership role in the team.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
The Ahmedabad based franchise who made history by winning the IPL in their debut 2022 season, also reached the final of the 2023 season.
However, the sudden departure of Hardik Pandya ahead of the 2024 season meant that the franchise had to find an alternative choice in the inexperienced Shubman Gill, under whom the Titans finished eighth in the points table last season.
The possible addition of Rahul will mean that team can not only have an experienced player for the role of captaincy but also a wicketkeeper-batter to replace the ageing, Wriddhiman Saha.
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