Lucknow Super Giants retained the services of skipper KL Rahul ahead of the mini-auction. He was one of their pre-auction picks which meant that the franchise paid Rs 17 crore for the India international.
Under his leadership, the team has reached the playoffs on both occasions but failed to make it to the summit clash. In 2023, against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) he limped off the ground with an injury that he picked up during the second over of the game.
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The LSG skipper ran the length of the field to try and stop a boundary hit by RCB opener Faf du Plessis. Unfortunately, he pulled up midway and went down on the ground in a lot of pain. As Rahul left the ground, it seemed like a serious quadriceps injury, which forced him to go under the knife and miss the rest of the tournament.
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Their second-most expensive player is Nicholas Pooran as they paid Rs 16 crore to buy the Carribean batsman. This also made him the most expensive wicket-keeper in the history of the competition.
Speaking to Star Sports, Rahul said, “This year we felt like we needed someone in the middle order who can be explosive and can also give us some finishing skills so Nicholas Pooran was a big buy for us and we were very excited again.”
Indeed, the batsman lived up to the expectations and scored 358 runs at an average of 29.83 and a strike rate of over 170.
Marcus Stoinis was another pre-auction buy for LSG at Rs 9.2 crore. The Australian is a key player for the franchise with his all-round capabilities. In the previous edition, He scored 408 runs in 15 matches at an average of 31.38 and a strike rate of 150.
Krunal Pandya, the vice-captain of the side, is their fourth most-expensive player with a buy amount of Rs 8.25 crore. Whereas, Devdutt Padikkal was traded for Rs 7.75 crore in place of Avesh Khan who joined Rajasthan Royals.
Top five costliest buys of LSG
| Name | Price (INR) | Year |
| KL Rahul | 17 crore | 2022 |
| Nicolas Pooran | 16 crore | 2023 |
| Marcus Stoinis | 9.2 crore | 2022 |
| Krunal Pandya | 8.25 crore | 2022 |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 7.75 crore | 2023 |
Top five costliest auction buys of LSG
From the above list, Rahul, Stoinis and Padikkal were not bought during the auction but outside the realms of it. Let us take a look at the five costliest auction buys.
| Name | Price (INR) | Year |
| Nicholas Pooran | 16 crore | 2023 |
| Jason Holder | 8.75 crore | 2022 |
| Krunal Pandya | 8.25 crore | 2022 |
| Mark Wood | 7.25 crore | 2023 |
| Quinton de Kock | 6.75 crore | 2022 |
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