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Pooran was in the RPSG group’s office in Kolkata where he signed on the dotted line to become LSG’s 1st choice retention.
Nicholas Pooran will be LSG’s 1st choice retention for IPL 2025. KL Rahul will likely leave the franchise. (Image: Sportzpics)
Ahead of deadline day where franchises would be required to make a final list of players that they would retain for the 2025 season, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is reported to have made their first-choice retention, Nicholas Pooran.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, the 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batter was in the RPSG group’s office in Kolkata where he reportedly signed to become the Lucknow-based franchises’ first-choice retention at INR 18 crores.
In the 2023 auction, LSG bought the West Indies international for INR 16 crores following his stint with the SunRisers Hyderabad.
“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 quoted by Cricbuzz, explaining the signing.
The southpaw was one of the cleanest hitters in the 2024 season of the IPL where he scored 499 runs from the middle order which included 35 boundaries and 36 maximums.
According to the report, LSG will go into the auction with INR 69 crores after spending INR 51 crores on their five retentions. After Pooran, the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan will be the other four players that the franchise will keep hold of.
As for KL Rahul, it is reported that the franchise will not be retaining the services of the skipper. Under Rahul’s leadership, LSG managed to make it to the playoffs in their first two seasons, but their performance in the 2024 season has resulted in the franchise parting ways with the captain.
The deadline for franchises to announce their list of retentions is on October 31. Sides will hope to keep their best talents at the best possible price and hope that they can bolster their respective squads in the 2025 edition of the auction.
LSG will hope that they can improve their squad to such an extent that they can challenge for their first title. But a lot of things would need to go right in the auction along with execution on the field. With Rahul’s departure, an official announcement is yet to be made regarding who would lead the franchise as well.
