Nicholas Pooran was one of the top performers in last IPL season.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have reportedly completed their first signing for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, with West Indies power-hitter Nicholas Pooran being retained by the franchise for INR 18 crore.
According to a Cricbuzz report, Pooran visited the Kolkata office of the RPSG group on Tuesday (October 29) to meet team owner Sanjiv Goenka and complete the formalities of his retention.
In the 2023 auction, LSG bought the southpaw for INR 16 crore following his stint with the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“Pooran is committed to LSG, possesses a winning mindset, thinks deep and above all he is adaptable to the batting order and any match situation,” Cricbuzz quoted an LSG official as saying.
Nicholas Pooran was one of the top performers in last IPL season, scoring 499 runs while batting in the middle order. His runs came at a strike rate of 178.21, including 35 boundaries and 36 maximums.
The report further claimed LSG will enter the mega auction with INR 69 crore after spending INR 51 crore on their five retentions. Besides Pooran, the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan will be the other four players that the franchise will keep hold of.
As for KL Rahul, the report suggests that the franchise will not be retaining the services of the skipper.
Rahul was one of the marquee players signed by LSG ahead of their debut IPL season in 2022. He has captained the side in all three seasons that they have been part of the competition and has led them to the playoffs twice. LSG finished seventh in IPL 2024, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time.
The deadline for franchises to announce their list of retentions is on October 31. IPL teams will hope to keep their best talents at the best possible price and hope that they can bolster their respective squads in the grand auction next month.