Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of Lucknow Super Giants recently referred to KL Rahul as “an integral part of the franchise” amid ongoing speculation about his future with the team. Goenka’s animated conversation with Rahul following a significant loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad had become a major talking point during last season’s IPL.
Rahul met with the team owner on monday in Kolkata and conveyed his desire to stay with the team, several months after a video of their discussion raised questions about whether the accomplished Indian batter intended to continue his tenure with the franchise.
“Look, I’ve been meeting KL regularly over last three years. I’m a little surprised this meeting got so much attention. As I’ve said we have not taken any call till the retention rules are out,” Goenka told reporters while introducing Zaheer Khan as the new team mentor.
“But KL has been an integral and important part of the LSG family since inception. He’s played a very important role. He’s like family and will be family.” Goenka added.
When asked if they would initiate a “reset mode” under the newly appointed mentor Zaheer, he said that with a mega-auction, a reset is inevitable, but he wants to retain the core as much as possible.
“One doesn’t know which way what goes. Certainly the coach (Justin Langer) continues, Lance Kluesener (assistant coach), Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach) also continue. We are delighted for Morne Morkel and Gautam Gambhir, very pleased they have joined the national team,” Goenka added.
Rahul has led LSG to the playoffs in the first two seasons, but it is widely believed that Gambhir’s strategic insights played a significant role in that success, rather than Rahul’s leadership, which faced scrutiny in the third season when they failed to reach the last four.
