The discussion on IPL team retention has gained momentum. KL Rahul who is currently the captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), visits the franchise’s Kolkata office on Monday for a meeting with owner Sanjiv Goenka. The meeting, held at Goenka’s office on Judges Court Road, Alipore, lasted approximately one hour.

This meeting was the first interaction between Rahul and Goenka since they talked after LSG’s loss to SunRisers Hyderabad on May 8. While the specifics of the discussion remain undisclosed, understand that the meeting was centered around the team composition and the potential retention of Rahul. Whether the franchise will be able to retain the India wicketkeeper-batter will be known soon but the fact that Rahul called on the owner could be a pointer to it. Neither side was immediately available for comment.

Speculation about Rahul’s potential return to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) remains unconfirmed. And the auction dynamics are such that there is no guarantee a franchise can buy a player it pursues with certainty.

For the record, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to announce the official retention policy, and it remains unclear how many players each team will be allowed to retain. 

Additionally, the Right to Match (RTM) option is another factor that could influence a franchise’s decision around top retentions.

Rahul’s visit comes amid news of the franchise’s plans to bring in Zaheer Khan as a mentor, a development first reported on August 19. The appointment of the former India pacer as the mentor is expected to be confirmed soon, with Zaheer likely to work alongside Justin Langer, who will continue in his role as head coach.