Ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction, one of the players who the world has their eyes on is KL Rahul. There are major doubts over whether the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will retain their skipper after the team's failure to reach the playoffs in the 2024 season.
In fact, Rahul and LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka found themselves in the middle of arguably the biggest controversy of the 17th season post the Lucknow-based franchise's humiliating 10-wicket defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad.
For those unversed, SRH beat LSG by 10 wickets as they chased down a massive total of 166 in just 9.4 overs.
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After the game, Goenka was spotted having an animated chat with KL Rahul, and the visuals sparked furore among the cricket fraternity.
Since that incident, it has been widely speculated that Rahul will leave LSG ahead of the 2025 mega auction. However, the LSG captain and owner reportedly met each other earlier this week in Kolkata
Goenka finally broke his silence on Rahul's status with the franchise ahead of the 2025 IPL and named the 32-year-old as a key part of the Super Giants family. However, he refused to give any confirmation on retention of any player until the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the retention rules.
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"I am surprised this meeting is getting so many attention. As I said earlier, we have not given any thoughts on retention until the BCCI comes up with the rules. All I can say that KL has been an important and integral part of the Super Giants family. He has been there since the inception. He has played a very important role. For me personally, he is like family and will be family," said Goenka in a press conference in Kolkata, at which the franchise confirmed Zaheer Khan's appointment as the mentor.
Replying to another question, Goenka stated that head coach Justin Langer, assistant coach Lance Klusner, and fielding coach Jonty Rhodes will stay with the franchise. However, he refused to confirm Rahul as the captain, hinting that a switch in leadership could be on the cards.
Rahul was purchased by LSG in a pre-auction draft ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction for a stunning value of Rs. 17 crore. Rahul captained LSG in their debut season in the IPL and took them to the playoffs. The franchise also reached the knockout stages in the 2023 season, but Rahul missed the second half of the campaign due to an injury. The Indian star returned to lead the Lucknow-based outfit in 2024 when they finished 7th on the table.