LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka slams KL Rahul: 'Players should prioritize winning over personal goals'

Exciting news! Lucknow Super Giants have officially announced their retentions for the upcoming IPL mega auction. Surprisingly, the franchise has made the decision to part ways with their captain, KL Rahul. The retained players include Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, and Mohsin Khan. This marks the end of a successful three-year partnership between LSG and KL Rahul. The momentous decision was confirmed on Thursday, following speculations since the end of IPL 2024, where owner Sajiv Goenka was seen engaged in a serious discussion with KL Rahul after the match against SunRisers Hyderabad.

This chat came minutes after LSG suffered a ten-wicket hiding at the hands of SRH at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Sanjiv Goenka was seen gesturing with his hands at KL Rahul, as the latter just stood there.

Now, as soon as LSG announced their picks, team owner Sanjiv Goenka seemingly took a dig at KL Rahul. In a video message that was played on Star Sports, Sanjiv Goenka was seen explaining the reasoning behind retaining Pooran, Bishnoi, Badoni, Mohsin and Mayank.

"It was a simple mindset to go in with players who have a mindset to win, who put the team first before their personal goals and personal aspirations and we wanted to retain as much as of core we could," said Sanjiv Goenka.

Sanjiv Goenka also said that picking Nicholas Pooran was a no-brainer, and the franchise wanted to have its core intact ahead of the mega auction.

"Our first retention which was an automatic choice, happened within like less than two minutes. We have two uncapped retentions that is Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni. It was a process that Zaheer Khan, Justin Langer and the analyst were involved in," said Sanjiv Goenka.

"We have gone with three bowlers from previous seasons, all Indians. Pooran was a no-brainer for everyone. Ayush has done well for us at No.6 or No.7," he added.

KL Rahul played 14 matches for LSG in IPL 2024 and he scored 520 runs at an average of 37.14. However, his strike rate came under severe scrutiny, and he was often criticised for his pace while at the crease.

In IPL 2024, KL Rahul had a strike rate of 136.13. Overall, the right-handed batter played 38 matches for LSG, scoring more than 1,200 runs.

KL Rahul is now entering the mega auction, and it needs to be seen which franchise picks him up.