KL Rahul to RCB confirmed? Sanjiv Goenka breaks silence on batter's LSG exit

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka talked about the future of KL Rahul with the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

This comes after there have been a lot of speculations around the duo not sharing a great relationship and the batter getting released by the franchise and joining RCB.

However, Sanjiv Goenka rubbished off all the rumors and the reports. During the press conference, which took place on 28th August, he said that he didn't want to comment on anything.

But mentioned that KL Rahul is like a family to him. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I don’t want to comment on speculation. All I will say is KL Rahul is family."

Sanjiv Goenka and Rahul have been in the news since the last season of the Indian Premier League. The franchise owner was seen giving a thrashing to the team's skipper after they lost two back-to-back games by big margins. Since then, there have been reports that the batter won't play for the team.

There were various speculations that Rahul was in talks with various franchises, especially Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The reports claimed that the batter will be joining his hometown franchise and will even be captain of the team as they need an Indian player who can take the team forward.

Two days earlier, Rahul and Sanjiv Goenka met at the franchise's office in Kolkata. However, as per the various reports, the batter expresses his desire to be retained. However, the owner of the team didn't assure him as the team management wanted to know the retention policy first.

"Yes, Rahul came to Kolkata and met Dr Goenka at RPG head office. He has told Dr Goenka that he wants to be retained. However, till BCCI comes up with a retention policy, LSG management wouldn't want to chalk out their plans. Look, Rahul wants retention but till LSG knows how many are to be retained and what's the new purse, they can't commit anyone," a source told PTI.

KL Rahul is an important and integral part of the Supergiants family - Sanjiv Goenka

Amid all the speculations, Sanjiv Goenka during the press conference also mentioned that KL Rahul is an important part of the Lucknow Super Giants family. He said as quoted by RevSports, "KL Rahul is an important and integral part of the Supergiants family."

Sanjiv Goenka was also asked if KL Rahul would be leading the time. He said that they have a lot of time to decide about captaincy and retentions and they will be making decisions after discussions. He said:

"Still enough time to decide on retention and captaincy. Everything has to be very well thought out."

Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants also appointed Zaheer Khan as the mentor ahead of the 2025 edition of the league. On joining the Team, the former Indian fast bowler said: "I will make sure that the process that is required to LSG the next level is there. The next season is going to be a special one."

Zaheer Khan will be joining hands with head coach Justin Langer in the Indian Premier League. Apart from him, there will be the likes of Adam Voges, Lance Klusener, Jonty Rhodes and others on the coaching staff.