Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders might target Indian batter KL Rahul during the IPL 2025 mega auction. Along with England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler – Rahul is reportedly being considered for the captaincy role for the upcoming season.
KKR recently released Shreyas Iyer who led them to the title in IPL 2024 while retaining core players such as Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and uncapped all-rounders Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh.
Rinku Singh remains their highest-paid player retained for ₹13 crore, while Russell, Narine, and Chakravarthy each earn ₹12 crore. Rana and Ramandeep were retained for ₹4 crore each. Notably, KKR will not have the Right to Match (RTM) option in the auction.
KL Rahul meanwhile was not retained by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as he expressed a desire to play with more freedom elsewhere. LSG retained key players like Nicholas Pooran (₹21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi (₹11 crore), Mayank Yadav (₹11 crore) and Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni (₹4 crore each).
Reports indicate that KKR is aiming to secure Rahul as captain during the IPL 2025 mega auction. According to news outlets like News 18 Bangla and Sangbad Pratidin Rahul and Jos Buttler are the top contenders for the leadership role.
The IPL 2025 auction set to take place on November 24-25 in Saudi Arabia, features 574 players, including marquee names like Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Rahul is placed in Marquee Set 2. He has been a top performer for LSG scoring 1410 runs in 38 matches at an average of 41.47 and a strike rate of 130.67 including two centuries and 10 fifties.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra believes LSG is unlikely to bid for Rahul again. He suggested they may focus on former KKR players like Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana.
“The parting between KL Rahul and LSG doesn’t seem amicable. I feel there’s no good in goodbyes. Their owner’s and Rahul’s statements indicate all is not well. I don’t see KL Rahul returning to LSG.” – Chopra remarked.
KKR fans are eagerly waiting to see if Rahul known for his calm demeanor and explosive batting, will lead their team in IPL 2025.
