Lucknow Super Giants Plan to Retain Newcomer Instead of KL Rahul

The Indian wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul is likely to be released by Lucknow Super Giants before the IPL Mega Auction. This has been due to the concerns of his strike rate over the past few IPL seasons, and this decision has been made by Head Coach Justin Langer and mentor Zaheer Khan.

The IPL sources have revealed this information, saying that,

The LSG management, including mentor Zaheer Khan and coach Justin Langer, analysed his stats and it has emerged that the team has almost lost all matches where KL has batted long and scored runs. That indicates that his strike rate doesn’t match the momentum of the game. With the Impact Player rule, the scores are getting higher. You can’t afford to have someone taking so much time at the top of the order.

With this being said, it is likely that KL Rahul might be released by the team for the IPL 2025 season. He was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for the IPL 2022 season for 17 crores, which helped the team to bring the captain from Kings XI Punjab. During the first two seasons, this decision came out to be helpful for the team as LSG reached the playoffs consecutively.

In the IPL 2024 season, KL Rahul’s batting style has become a concern for the team, due to his lower strike rate, which was not matching the fast-paced action of the game. Even the team did not reach the playoffs, finishing the recent season at the 7th spot in the standings. Mayank Yadav is a strong player who is likely to be retained by the team over KL Rahul, as the retention deadlines come closer.