KL Rahul Offered Top Retention By LSG But India Star Rejected It For These Reasons, 4 Teams In Race To Rope Him

Of all the big names, that several reports have claimed will not be in the IPL 2025 retention list - KL Rahul is probably the most senior India player. KL Rahul is not only a wicketkeeper-batter but was also the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants in the last couple of seasons. In the past, Rahul has led Punjab Kings also. While his form in international cricket has dwindled a bit, KL rahul remains a great asset. 

A report in Times of India has claimed that Rahul was offered the top retention by LSG but he decided to move on for two reasons. 

"LSG were ready to offer top retention bracket to Rahul, but Rahul eventually decided to move on due to personal and professional reasons," a source told TOI.

"At the moment, there are four franchises who have expressed their interest in him - Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. Expect all four to go hard for him in the auction," a source told TOI.

As per the IPL retention guidelines released ahead of the mega auction, a team will lose Rs 18 crore from the increased purse of Rs 120 crore for the first player retained, Rs 14 crore for second, Rs 11 for third while for the uncapped players, a team will have to shell out Rs 4 crore each.

If a team retains five capped players, they will lose Rs 75 crore from the auction pot.

The mega auction is likely to be held overseas in the last week of November. The auction purse has been increased to Rs 120 crore from the Rs 100 crore teams had at their disposal at last year's auction.

The total salary cap now comprises an auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. The match fee, set at Rs 7.5 lakh per game, has been introduced ahead of the next season.

The teams can retain up to six players, via retention or right to match, from the existing squad, the highest in IPL history.

With PTI inputs 

Topics mentioned in this article

KL Rahul Lucknow Super Giants Chennai Super Kings Royal Challengers Bengaluru Rajasthan Royals IPL 2025 Cricket