Nicholas Pooran is set to be the first retention by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Meanwhile, captain KL Rahul, who has led the side since IPL 2022, has reportedly been ignored for retention.
LSG failed to make the playoffs in the IPL 2024 season, headed by KL Rahul. They finished in seventh place out of ten teams. KL Rahul was chastised for his captaincy in multiple matches. He had a heated argument with franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka following a loss to SRH.
In the IPL 2024 season, KL Rahul was the Super Giants’ leading scorer. The Karnataka-born cricketer scored 520 runs in 14 innings at an average of 37.14 and a decent strike rate of 136.12. Pooran scored 499 runs with an excellent average of 62.38 and a strike rate of 178.21.
Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi top three retentions by LSG
According to ESPNCricinfo, the Lucknow Super Giants will retain Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, and uncapped players Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni for the 2018 IPL season.
According to the report, Nicholas Pooran is the most likely Lucknow Super Giants player to be retained, followed by Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi. The star West Indian cricketer also acted as interim captain and wicketkeeper during Rahul’s absence during the previous IPL season.
“The exact amount the five players have been signed up for is not yet known, but based on the retention slabs put in place by IPL, INR 51 crore will be deducted from LSG’s purse. In case aggregate sum paid to the five exceeds 51 crore, then the higher number will be deducted from the INR 120 crore purse each franchise has been given to build their squads for IPL 2025,” a report by ESPNCricinfo said.
Nicholas Pooran was bought by LSG for Rs 16 crore before the 2023 season. The southpaw entered the IPL auction in 2017, where he was purchased by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 30 lakh. The next season, he joined the Punjab Kings for Rs 4.2 crore and was purchased by SRH for Rs 10.75 crore in the 2022 auction.
Mayank Yadav won two Player-of-the-Match accolades, but a side injury limited him to just four games in the IPL 2024. LSG bought Mayank at Rs 20 lakh. Bishnoi was selected for Rs 4 crore before the 2022 season. Badoni and Mohsin earned recognition after their outstanding performance with LSG.