3 players LSG must retain ahead of IPL 2025 ft. Mayank Yadav

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) find themselves in a difficult position ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The franchise, which missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their history during the last campaign, have concerns in various areas.

The Super Giants have one of the weakest Indian batting contingents among the 10 IPL franchises, and barring a player or two, their overseas names arguably aren't retention-worthy either. While other teams are presumably planning on locking down their entire core ahead of the auction, they might not have that luxury.

Nevertheless, Lucknow should be able to find at least a few names to keep hold of before the mega auction rips rosters apart. On that note, here are three players LSG must retain ahead of IPL 2025.

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#3 KL Rahul

KL Rahul's future with the franchise is up in the air. The captain was seen having an animated chat with the owners during IPL 2024, and since then, reports have been swirling that he could leave and potentially go back to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Rahul's personal performances haven't too great, either. He is yet to find the right balance between attack and defense, and his strike rate often hampers the team. If the 32-year-old can bat freely, he'll be one of the best T20 batters in the world, but he doesn't seem able to find the switch.

Despite all of that, though, LSG would do well to keep Rahul. He has been their captain over the last three IPL seasons and has plenty of experience at the helm. Moreover, the combination he offers of versatile batter + wicket-keeper + captain is something they won't be able to find at the auction.

Unless the Super Giants can make something work in the trade market, they might find themselves well behind the other franchises if they lose Rahul. They're too far along their relationship with the player to give up now.

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#2 Nicholas Pooran

There's no doubt that Nicholas Pooran is among the very best batters in T20 cricket right now. The West Indian is as destructive as they come, against both pace and spin, and any team would kill to have his services.

Pooran is also a keeping option and an electric fielder, making him arguably the easiest choice for LSG to retain. Lucknow simply can't let him go into the auction - not only can he bat anywhere, but he can also get off the blocks in an instant and win games single-handedly.

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#1 Mayank Yadav

Mayank Yadav is now a capped player, but even ₹11 crore might be a very reasonable price for him. The 22-year-old, who shattered speed records during IPL 2024, has excellent control to go with his obvious X-factor.

Mayank is probably the fastest bowler in India right now, and LSG will find it completely impossible to replace him. He is unlikely to go cheap in the auction, with all franchises now knowing what he's capable of. The quick is also getting used to bowling at all stages of the innings and developing a slower ball.

Mayank needs to be locked down by LSG. Despite his injury history, his ceiling is just too high to be ignored.