KL Rahul IN or OUT? 6 Players LSG might retain ahead of IPL 2025 auction

The IPL Governing Council met on Saturday (September 28) and confirmed the player retention regulations ahead of the mega auction for the 2025 edition. Each franchise has been allowed to retain up to six players and it has been left up to each team to choose their combination of retentions and RTMs while it has been made mandatory that at least one uncapped player (and a maximum two) has to be retained.

A lot was made recently of KL Rahul's meeting with LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka in Kolkata even as the franchise announced Zaheer Khan as their director of cricket development and bowling mentor. When Goenka was asked about Rahul's retention, he stated that they were waiting for the retention rules to be announced. Now that the regulations are confirmed, will LSG retain their skipper or they will release him? Here we look at six players LSG can retain ahead of the mega auction:

1. Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran has to be LSG's first retention for Rs 18 crore thanks to his form especially this year. He is currently the second-highest run-getter with 413 runs at an average of 45.89 at a strike rate of 174.26 smashing 30 sixes. Moreover, the southpaw has also created a world record for scoring the most runs in a calendar year in T20 cricket history. He is only the second player to score more than 2000 runs in a year. Moreover, Pooran had also scored 499 runs in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 178.21.

2. KL Rahul

KL Rahul could be the second retention for the franchise even as questions have been repeatedly raised over his strike rate. Video of LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and KL Rahul arguing with each other in front of the camera had gone viral during IPL 2024. Since then, a lot has been said of Rahul's retention while a few reports even suggested that the LSG skipper is willing to be released. But Rahul was the leading run-getter for LSG amassing 520 in 14 matches in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of around 136 which is decent. For the same reason, Rahul could be LSG's second retention at Rs 14 crore.

3. Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock's name will be definitely up for discussion when it comes to retention. But his retention depends on how many players LSG are looking to retain. The southpaw from South Africa is the leading run-getter in the Caribbean Premier League having smashed 434 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 165.02. However, his form in IPL 2024 wasn't great as the opening batter could only muster 250 runs in 11 matches at a strike of 134.41.

4. Mayank Yadav

Fiery fast bowler Mayank Yadav stunned many with his pace and accuracy when he made his debut earlier this year in the IPL. He played only four matches but turned a lot of heads picking up seven wickets. He can clock in excess of 150 kph consistently and did so in IPL 2024 touching almost 157 kph in one of the matches he played. However, his retention price could be up for debate. Mayank is currently uncapped but is likely to make his debut for India against Bangladesh in the upcoming T20I series. If he becomes a capped player, then a lot of auction dynamics change for him and LSG as well. But he will certainly be in contention to get retained.

5. Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi emerged as the first-choice spinner for LSG over the last couple of years. He performed decently for the franchise during his stint and he could also be in contention to be retained. But again, given the retention slabs, it remains to be seen if LSG management is willing to spend a huge amount for him. As for his performance, he accounted for 39 wickets for LSG in 43 matches but could pick only 10 in IPL 2024.

6. Mohsin Khan

Mohsin Khan is a tad injury prone but he has emerged as one of the better pace bowlers for the franchise over the last three years. He did well in IPL 2022 for LSG picking up 14 wickets in nine outings but could play only five matches in the next season due to injury. In IPL 2024, he picked up 10 wickets in as many matches. His name is likely to come up in retention only if Mayank Yadav gets capped during the Bangladesh T20I series but is a very good option to have in the squad.