KL Rahul likely to be replaced as LSG captain, two stars emerge as top contenders: report

KL Rahul, the star wicketkeeper-batter, is likely to stay with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, though he may not continue as captain. Sources suggest that the burden of captaincy has taken a toll on Rahul, and he wishes to focus more on his batting in the upcoming season.

KL Rahul to be replaced as captain

According to an IANS report, Rahul has expressed his desire to step down from the captaincy to allow himself more freedom to contribute as a batter. This decision has left the Lucknow franchise considering other candidates for the captaincy role. Among the frontrunners are Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran, both of whom are reportedly in the race to take over the leadership of the team.

An insider from the Lucknow franchise shared with IANS that Rahul met with LSG CEO Sanjiv Goenka on Monday to discuss his future with the team. ¡°The meeting was official with the CEO Sanjiv Goenka on Monday, the captaincy and retention topics were discussed. However, Rahul is unlikely to captain the side in the upcoming edition as he wants to explore himself more as a batter. Goenka has full confidence in Rahul and he will be retained as a player, but will not be seen captaining the side,¡± the source revealed.

Meeting between KL Rahul and LSG CEO Sanjiv Goenka

The meeting, which reportedly lasted about four hours, took place at Goenka's office in Alipore, Kolkata, before Rahul left for Bengaluru to begin practice for the Duleep Trophy. While sources suggest that Rahul is keen to stay with LSG, the franchise is waiting for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to finalize the player retention policy before making any official decisions.

Big News on KL Rahul - He wants to be retained by Lucknow Supergiants but The owner Sanjiv Goenka hasn't given him any assurance.
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Cribuzz reported that the meeting between Rahul and Goenka occurred at Judges Court Road, Alipore, lasting an hour and primarily focusing on player retention and team composition for IPL 2025. Meanwhile, PTI reported that ¡°Rahul came to Kolkata and met Dr Goenka at RPG head office."

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"He has clearly told Dr Goenka that he wants to be retained. However, till BCCI comes up with retention policy, LSG management wouldn't want to chalk out their plans,¡± said a member of the IPL Governing Council, familiar with the developments at LSG.

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