IPL 2025: Nicholas Pooran signs LSG contract

Lucknow Super Giants have secured Nicholas Pooran for the next Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) cycle. His retention was never a doubt for the franchise but discussions have been held on whether to make him their first retention or retain captain, KL Rahul. As things stand, the India international is on his way out of the team and Pooran is very likely to take over the captaincy.

However, the franchise is open to hunting for a new captain and if they sign players like Rishabh Pant or Shreyas is available in the auction, they will try their luck. Pooran was present in Sanjeev Goenka’s office in Kolkata, on Tuesday, October 29, to complete the formalities. He will be earning INR 18 crore, the top slab that BCCI has set for retentions. However, each franchise has the freedom to increase or decrease that but Lucknow has secured him for INR 18 crore itself - INR 2 crore more than he was previously earning.

“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,” said an LSG official as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Also Read - Reports: Lucknow Super Giants to pip KL Rahul and use RTM card for Marcus Stoinis

After Pooran, Mayank Yadav most likely to be retained for IPL 2025

Notably, the West Indies international played two seasons for Lucknow and has been extremely successful, to say the least. In the 2023 edition, the 29-year-old played 15 games and scored 358 runs at a strike rate of 172.94. In the following edition, Pooran wreaked havoc, scoring 499 runs in 14 games, at a strike rate of 178.21. He also led Lucknow in IPL 2024 when Rahul played as an Impact Player against Punjab Kings.

Also Read - IPL 2025 Retention & Auction Possibilities: Which players might be retained or released?

Apart from Pooran, Lucknow will also be retaining Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan. Badoni recently had a stunning Delhi Premier League and the management is willing to retain him in the uncapped category along with Mohsin. On the other hand, they consider Mayank to be the future of India’s pace attack and for the same reason, they are willing to pay a hefty sum to retain him.