Will KL Rahul return to RCB? Know the players who were not retained by their franchises for IPL 2025

KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (Pic: Instagram/klrahul)

As all 10 teams of the Indian Premier League have declared the list of players they have retained for the 2025 edition, there are some players who were not retained by their respective franchises.

After the retention list of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was out, fans noticed the missing name of the franchise skipper KL Rahul. LSG has retained Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni.

After KL Rahul was not retained by his franchise, the cricket fans took the social media platforms ablaze by saying "Come to RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)." In the IPL 2024 edition, under KL Rahul's leadership, the team experienced disappointing results. Also, the unwanted sight between LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka and Rahul surfaced all over the internet in which Goenka was seen conducting unhappy talks with the skipper. The fans are excited to see the transfer of KL Rahul ahead of the IPL 2025.

Also Read: Rohit, Hardik among players retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2025

Rishabh Pant who made a return to the game after recovering from his horrific accident back then is also among the players who are not retained by their franchises. The star wicketkeeper-batsman played a crucial role in the Delhi Capitals' (DC) IPL 2024 campaign. Ahead of the IPL 2025, the Delhi-based franchise has retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abhishek Porel. There are speculations that Rishabh Pant would be one of those huge transfers to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the IPL 2025.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) retention list took the players by surprise as they retained stalwart Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal and Rajat Patidar. Lead pacer Mohammed Siraj alongside big names such as Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Will Jacks was left behind. It will be exciting to see if these players go under the hammer for a big price.

Chennai Super Kings retained MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja and Matheesha Pathirana. Rachin Ravindra who delivered decent performances with the willow in the 2024 edition was not among the retained players.

IPL 2024 winning captain Shreyas Iyer's name was also missing from the Kolkata Knight Riders' retention list. Although, Iyer had a mixed bag of performances in the concluded season, but KKR managed to win their third title in the league's history. As DC has not retained Rishabh Pant, will Shreyas Iyer be their top choice to lead the side in IPL 2025?