KL Rahul explains reason behind LSG exit: Wanted to start fresh, needed freedom

Former captain of the Lucknow Super Giants - KL Rahul - explained the reason behind leaving the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League mega-auction. Rahul, who captained the team for the last 3 seasons was not retained by the side ahead of the 2025 season of the tournament.

In an interview with Star Sports ahead of the IPL mega auction, set to be held on November 24 and 25. Rahul said that he left the team because he needed freedom to play his game.

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KL Rahul's three-year association came to an end after the Lucknow-based franchise, LSG, opted to retain Nicholas Pooran (INR 21 Crore), Ravi Bishnoi (INR 11 Crore), Mayank Yadav (INR 11 Crore), Mohsin Khan (INR 4 Crore) and Ayush Badoni (INR 4 Crore).

WANTED TO START FRESH: KL RAHUL

Rahul did not have a good time as a batter or as a captain last season. 2024 was the first time that Lucknow did not reach the playoffs in 3 years, and the team also looked outdated in terms of modern T20 game.

"I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom, where the team atmosphere could be something lighter. Sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself," KL Rahul said on a promo on Star Sports.

"I have been out of the T20 team for a while and I know where I stand as a player and I know what I need to do to get back, so I'll look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform where I can go back and enjoy my cricket and my aim is to obviously get back into the Indian T20 team," Rahul further added.

Listen to former LSG skipper @klrahul talk about his journey at Lucknow, his captaincy and much more only on #KLRahulUnpluggedOnStar! ???

Catch the FULL EPISODE ???? TUE 12 NOV, 10 PM (post the PKL match) on the Star Sports Network and the Star Sports YouTube channel! pic.twitter.com/Gki8SsZjjC — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 11, 2024

Rahul's failings, combined with a misfiring unit resulted in LSG finishing at the 7th spot with 14 points from 14 matches in the IPL 2024. While there were 4 teams tied at 14 points last season, in the race for the playoffs, LSG were the last of them with a NRR of -0.667. Amongst the team with 14 points, RCB reached the playoffs with an NRR of +0.459.

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