All but out of contention for the IPL play-offs, KL Rahul’s future as Lucknow Super Giants skipper is uncertain for the remaining two games after the team received a pasting at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on Wednesday. It is a foregone conclusion that the LSG skipper, who was roped in before the auction in 2022 for a record Rs 17 crore, is unlikely to be retained before the mega auctions in 2025. However, there is speculation that the skipper might step down on his own and concentrate on batting during the next two games.
“There is a five-day gap before the next game against DC. As of now, no decision has been taken but it is understood that if Rahul plans to just concentrate on his batting for the remaining two games, the management won’t mind,” an IPL source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Videos of LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka’s agitated conversation with Rahul emerged on social media after Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head (89 not out off 30 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (75 off 28 balls) reached a target of 167 in less than 10 overs.
This was after the home team batters struggled to get going on the same track. Worse, Rahul’s (29 off 33 balls) batting in the Powerplay has been one of the biggest reasons for LSG’s below-par show in the cash-rich league and it seems that Goenka has finally run out of patience.
The India star has scored 460 runs in 12 games and could again cross the 500-run mark for the season but it is his strike-rate of 136.09 which is the problem.
LSG are still mathematically in contention as they can reach 16 points by winning their remaining two games — vs Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on May 14 and vs Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on May 17.
However, it will be very difficult to massively improve upon the net run-rate (-0.760).
In case, Rahul decides to step down, vice-captain Nicholas Pooran, easily the team’s most impactful batter in the season, is likely to take over for the remaining two games.
