Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul met with the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka on Monday at the latter’s office in Kolkata to discuss their future.
It has been reported that the meeting went on for an hour in which Goenka made efforts to reconcile with Rahul following Goenka’s outburst on the captain during the IPL 2024 season, and the LSG owner persisted in persuading the cricketer to continue with the franchise.
In match number 57 of the IPL 2024 season in Hyderabad between LSG and SRH, SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma chased down the target of 166 runs in only 9.4 overs as the pair hammered 14 sixes and 16 fours. It was an embarrassing defeat for LSG, which prompted angry reactions from Goenka.
Goenka didn’t wait to go to the dressing room and seemingly scolded and demanded questions from Rahul right after the game, with all cameras capturing the duo in a heated exchange. Goenka animatedly expressed his frustration and lashed out at the LSG captain for the loss.
Weeks after the IPL season concluded, in which LSG failed to reach the playoffs, reports emerged of Rahul wanting to return to RCB. RCB may also happily invite Rahul back, as their captain, Faf du Plessis, is 40 years old now.
The future of KL Rahul At LSG Is Uncertain; RCB Lay in the Wait
Goenka and Rahul had a meeting on Monday. It has been learned that Goenka wants Rahul to continue leading them, and thus the meeting was set up between the duo as they approach the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Cricbuzz said in its report: “The meeting was centred around the team composition and the potential retention of Rahul. Whether the franchise will be able to retain the India wicketkeeper-batter will be known soon, but the fact that Rahul called on the owner could be a pointer to it.”
Rahul has led LSG for three seasons and marched them to the playoffs in the first couple of tournaments.
There is a possibility that Goenka may agree to a trade of Rahul with RCB or that the cricketer may be released in the auction pool altogether, although the chances of that are unlikely as then Rahul would not have a guaranteed captaincy role.
For now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to finalize and announce the retention policy. It is uncertain how many cricketers the BCCI will allow each franchise to retain for the IPL 2025 mega auction, and whether the franchise will have the Right To Match (RTM) option available.
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