IPL 2025 Mega Auction
Rahul has played for LSG as captain for three seasons © IPL
Amid discussions about retaining players in IPL, Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul on Monday reached the team's Kolkata office and met owner Sanjiv Goenka. The meeting, which took place at Goenka's office on Judges Court Road in Alipore, lasted for about an hour.
This meeting was the first formal conversation between Rahul and Goenka after the defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 8.
Though the details of the discussions are still kept secret, Cricbuzz The meeting is understood to have centred around the team's composition and potentially retaining Rahul. Whether the franchise will be able to retain the India wicketkeeper-batsman will be known soon, but Rahul's call to the owner could be an indication of that. Neither party was immediately available for comment.
Speculations about Rahul's possible return to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are still unconfirmed. And the dynamics of the auction are such that there is no guarantee that a franchise will definitely be able to buy a player.
For the record, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to announce an official retention policy, and it is unclear how many players each team will be allowed to retain. Additionally, the Right to Match (RTM) option is another factor that can influence a franchise's decision about top retention.
Rahul's visit comes at a time when the franchise plans to bring in Zaheer Khan as a mentor, which was first reported by the news portal. Cricbuzz The former India pacer's appointment as mentor is expected to be confirmed soon, with Zaheer likely to work alongside Justin Langer, who will continue in his role as head coach.
Rahul has played three seasons for LSG, captaining all of them. He was part of the Indian ODI team that recently toured Sri Lanka and will soon be seen playing in the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru, where he will represent Team A, captained by Shubman Gill.
Cricbuzz