Pooran leads LSG retentions for IPL, pens massive deal

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday announced that they have retained Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi alongside uncapped stars Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.

Each franchise had the option to retain up to five capped players, two uncapped players, and a total of six players across both categories. LSG retained Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as capped players while Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni were retained in the uncapped category.

Pooran was LSG's top retention pick for Rs 21 crore. The West Indian star scored 499 runs in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 178.21, earned a spot in the ICC T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament and went on to break records for most T20 sixes and most T20 runs in a calendar year, a release said.

Speedster Mayank Yadav lit up the IPL 2024 with lightning 150 kmph deliveries. After four fiery matches in IPL 2024, an injury cut his season short but that didn't stop his momentum. He debuted for India later in the year and rattled Bangladesh's batting order in the three-match T20 series. Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi were retained at the price of Rs 11 crore each.

Bishnoi has been weaving spin magic since joining as an original pick in 2022, making key contributions to LSG's playoff runs in 2022 and 2023. Last season, he added another 10 wickets to his tally.

Mohsin and Badoni, both uncapped and bought for their base price in the 2022 auction, round out our retained lineup. They were secured for Rs 4 crore each.

Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan took 10 wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2024 and remains one of our most reliable options for clutch overs. He picked up 14 wickets at a sub-6 economy in his maiden IPL season in 2022 before a career-threatening injury sidelined him in 2023.

Ayush Badoni, who smashed 235 runs in IPL 2024 from 12 innings, recently played in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup for India A. His gutsy fifty against the Delhi Capitals lifted LSG from 94/7 to 167/7 in the IPL 2024.

The Lucknow-based franchise finished their IPL 2024 voyage in the 7th place in the standings with 14 points after winning seven of 14 matches.