IPL Auction 2025: Nicholas Pooran signs top retention deal; LSG to enter auction with ₹69 crore

The star West Indies National Cricket Team batsman Nicholas Pooran has officially signed a retention deal with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.

Nicholas Pooran has signed with the LSG franchise as their top retention and will be getting a salary of INR 18 crore in the Indian Premier League 2025.

KL Rahul to be released by Lucknow Super Giants

KL Rahul, who was roped in by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their debut season as a draft pick, will be released by the franchise. Rahul led LSG very well in their debut season and played a key role in their success.

In 15 matches, he smashed 616 runs at an average of 51.33 and a strike rate of 135.38. He also helped LSG qualify for the playoffs, but they lost in Eliminator.

In IPL 2023, Rahul played just 9 matches and scored 274 runs at an average of 34.25 and a strike rate of 113.22 before getting ruled out of the entire competition. In that season as well, LSG lost the Eliminator.

Meanwhile, Rahul returned to the side for the IPL 2024 and scored 520 runs at an average of 37.14 and a strike rate of 136.12, but LSG didn't make it to the playoffs and finished in the seventh spot. The franchise owner, Sanjiv Goenka, was not happy with Rahul's captaincy and was even seen bashing him on the field after the loss against SRH.

Nicholas Pooran becomes LSG's no.1 retention

As per Cricbuzz, Nicholas Pooran had a meeting with Sanjiv Goenka in the Kolkata office of the RPSG group on Tuesday and signed on the dotted lines to represent Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the coming seasons.

In the Indian Premier League 2023, he was bought by the franchise for INR 16 crore and did a good job with the bat in the previous two seasons.

Pooran scored 358 runs at an average of 29.83 and a strike rate of 172.94 in IPL 2023 and 499 runs at an average of 62.37 and a strike rate of 178.21 in IPL 2024. He also has leadership abilities and can keep wickets, along with being an explosive batsman. Nicholas Pooran's performance in the last two years has led to an INR 2 crore increase in his salary, and he will now get INR 18 crore.

"Pooran is committed to LSG, possesses a winning mindset, thinks deep and above all he is adaptable to the batting order and any match situation," said an LSG official explaining the signing, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

LSG to enter auction with a purse of INR 69 crore

Other than Nicholas Pooran, LSG will be retaining Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni, and Mohsin Khan, with Badoni and Mohsin falling in the uncapped category.

Overall, Lucknow Super Giants will spend INR 51 crore to retain the aforementioned players (INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, INR 11 crore, INR 4 crore and INR 4 crore).

They will head into the auction with a purse of INR 69 crore and will need to acquire at least 15 more players to build a strong squad.