Nothing special about meeting KL Rahul claims Sanjiv Goenka as darkness looms large
Published - 29 Aug 2024, 11:39 AM | Updated - 30 Aug 2024, 11:08 AM
The owner of Lucknow Super Giants Sanjiv Goenka has finally cleared the air about the franchise's plans for the star India player KL Rahul.
Alongside being the marquee player for the franchise, Rahul is also the team's captain and has been in the role in all three seasons of LSG so far.
Under KL Rahul, Lucknow Super Giants made it to the playoffs in their first two seasons in 2022 and 2023.
However, the team finished seventh in IPL 2024 with seven wins and seven defeats and missed the playoff spot due to the poor net run rate.
Rahul and Goenka were involved in an ugly conversation after a match in IPL 2024 between Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Goenka was visibly displeased with the way LSG played that day and showed his displeasure to the captain. Since then, there have been reports suggesting that Rahul might join a new franchise from IPL 2025.
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Sanjiv Goenka breaks silence on the retention of KL Rahul
During a chat with Sports Tak, Sanjiv Goenka was asked about the future of KL Rahul with Lucknow Super Giants. Goenka was clear in his stance that KL Rahul remains an integral part of the team.
"KL Rahul has been our captain for three years. Apart from being the captain, he has been an integral part of the Super Giants family as well. So, it's quite normal to be in contact with him. We value him and he is a great player," Sanjiv Goenka stated.
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The LSG owner further mentioned that the team would like to retain as much core as possible but they will plan once the retention policies and rules for RTM are out.
"But if you talk about his retention for the next season, we would like to retain as much core as we can. But it all depends on the retention policies, how many players will be allowed to be retained, no. of Right to Match cards. Nothing is clear so far," Goenka added.
KL Rahul's IPL numbers
KL Rahul is one of the topmost players in the history of the IPL. He has scored 4683 runs in 132 IPL matches so far at an average of 45.47 and a strike rate of 134.61. However, his strike rate has always been the talking point in every season.
Once known to provide his team with blistering starts at the top, Rahul has transformed himself to play the anchor role who likes to play a long inning without taking too much risk.
His batting approach has cost LSG a no. of times when he has struggled to score quick runs.
Some reports suggested that Rahul would go back to his old franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The 32-year-old started his IPL career while playing for RCB. Later, he also went on to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab.
Alongside being a quality opening batter, Rahul is also a great player of spin and can also bat in the middle order. He is also a useful wicketkeeper. His versatility makes him an X-factor player for any team.
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