NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have accomplished their goal of maintaining a robust foundation by keeping players such as Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Yadav, and head coach Justin Langer indicated on Saturday that they now intend to reclaim their previous squad members during the forthcoming IPL mega auction.
LSG have kept five players in their roster, with four being Indians and two being uncapped players, including the dynamic West Indian batsman Nicholas Pooran.
"We are really pleased with announcing the four of the most talented Indian players in the country at the moment. We are setting a base for those strong Indian players -- Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Mohsin Khan -- four incredibly talented players and I'm excited about that," Langer said in a video posted on X by the franchise.
"Nicholas Pooran is a dynamic player in world cricket and we can't wait to see him in action again. We have got one more Right To Match (RTM) and we are hoping to pick up as many of our players as possible from last year in the auction.
"Mr Goenka has thought long and hard about this and like I have said, we have talked over and over all the possibilities," the former Australia opener said.
LSG opted not to retain KL Rahul ahead of the October 31 retention deadline.
After leading the franchise since its inception in 2022, Rahul's tenure came to an end as LSG finished seventh in IPL 2024.
The wicketkeeper-batsman will be available for selection in the upcoming mega auction. The side will go into the mega auction with a purse of Rs 69 crore.
"The retention for next year's IPL was really tough. There were lots of very careful deliberations, strong considerations to come up list of retentions," Langer said.
The Lucknow Super Giants secured Pooran's services for Rs 21 crore, matching the amount paid to Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli. Only Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad commanded a higher fee at Rs 23 crore in this retention phase.
Despite Rahul leading LSG's batting statistics in IPL 2024 with 520 runs at 136 strike rate, Pooran's contribution of 499 runs was notable for its superior strike rate of 178.
LSG also maintained their core group by retaining Bishnoi, Mayank, Mohsin, and Badoni for Rs 11 crore, Rs 11 crore, Rs 4 crore, and Rs 11 crore respectively.
