Rahul likely to lead Goenka’s Lucknow franchise in IPL 2022; Dhoni to stay at CSK for 3 seasons: Report

KEY STORY

• After leading the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise from the front for several seasons, premier batter KL Rahul is set to part ways with the Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta co-owned franchise prior to mega auction for the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rahul, who was signed by PBKS for Rs 11 crore at the IPL 2018 auction, will reportedly spearhead the new Lucknow franchise in the IPL 2022.

• As per the latest developments, Rahul will likely join Sanjiv Goenka’s Lucknow-based franchise for the 15th season of the cash-rich league. While Rahul is expected to captain the Goenka-owned Lucknow franchise, defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have reportedly opted to acquire the services of MS Dhoni for three more seasons. After leading the CSK franchise to their fourth IPL title in the 2021 season of the elite tournament, Dhoni had revealed that he will play his final T20 match in Chennai.

Winning trophies & winning hearts! 🏆 💛

It's time to say good night from Dubai with 'Thala' @msdhoni's special message for the @ChennaiIPL fans after #CSK's title triumph. 👏 💛#VIVOIPL | #Final | #CSKvKKR pic.twitter.com/gqkJMEH0gl

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 15, 2021

According to a report filed by the Indian Express, it has been learned that CSK have retained their charismatic skipper for three seasons. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad are also tipped to remain at the CSK franchise. The defending champions are also negotiating with Moeen Ali to become the franchise’s fourth player to get retained ahead of the new season. All IPL teams can retain a total of four players for the next edition of the T20 tournament.

CSK’s Sam Curran and Ali are in the fray to become the fourth retained player ahead of the new season. This also means that CSK will not be able to retain legendary batter Suresh Raina. According to the report, Delhi Capitals (DC) will release former skipper Shreyas Iyer while captain Rishabh Pant is expected to lead the franchise next season.

In sometime, this stage will be full with prospective bidders for 2⃣ new IPL Franchises. 👍 👍

Stay tuned for updates from the bidding process that starts shortly. 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/g3M0oBoOJz

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 25, 2021

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to retain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the IPL auction. Ishan Kishan has emerged as a frontrunner to get retained by the Mumbai Paltan before the November 30 deadline. The report added that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are likely to retain Sunil Narine and Andre Russell in the build-up to the mega auction.

Players reportedly retained by IPL teams ahead of the mega auction:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali or Sam Curran.

Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell.