New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be interested in securing the services of Team India batter KL Rahul at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. Rahul entered the auction after being released by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Rahul, who led LSG for three seasons from 2022 to 2024, was let go of by the franchise amid concerns over his strike rate and his failure to up the ante with the bat when required. LSG made West Indies power-hitter Nicholas Pooran their top retention at Rs 21 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and will be looking for an ideal replacement for Rahul.
Rahul, on the other hand, is expected to be one of the most in-demand players at the auction considering that he is a proven consistent run-getter in the IPL and also has significant leadership experience. He might be on the wishlist of many teams, who are looking for a potential captaincy candidate and a top-order batter to bolster their squad.
Gavaskar believes franchises like CSK and RCB will go all out for RCB as they can benefit from the experience of the Team India star. While heading to RCB will be a homecoming for Rahul, who has previously played for the franchise, a move to CSK can’t be ruled out as the Men in Yellow will be on the lookout for an Indian wicket-keeper batter, who can replace MS Dhoni in the future.
“I do believe that the two south franchises, Bengaluru as well as Chennai, will go for KL Rahul. Maybe even Hyderabad will go, but Bangalore is of course KL Rahul’s hometown. So clearly I think he will be enthused, he will be encouraged, he will want to play in front of his home crowd. So Bengaluru might go for KL Rahul,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports, speaking about Rahul’s potential destinations in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
KL Rahul’s IPL stats
Rahul has been among one of the most consistent batters in the IPL ever since making his debut in the 2014 season. The Team India wicket-keeper batter has played 132 matches in his IPL career so far and has an impressive 4683 runs to his name at a strike rate of 134.61, including 4 centuries and 37 fifties. Rahul scored 1,410 runs at a strike rate of 130.68, including two centuries and 10 fifties for LSG in three seasons.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar named an Indian batter who he believes will be on the radar of both Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
