Pooran was the “automatic choice” as the best player in the team and the decision to retain him took “two minutes” according to Goenka. “We had a simple idea of going in with players who have a winning mindset, who put the team before their goals and aspirations,” he said. “And we wanted to keep as much core as possible in our available bag. We had a strong bowling unit, that’s why we went with three bowlers. [Bishnoi, Mayank and Mohsin] from last season and all the Indians. Pooran was naive. Ayush [Badoni] you did well in numbers 6 and 7.”
While Rahul was LSG’s top scorer in IPL 2024 with 520 runs at a strike rate of 136, Pooran’s 499 runs came in 178 runs.
Mayank made his IPL debut in 2024 but played only four matches before being ruled out due to injury. He stood out at the time with his 150km/h speed and won two Man of the Match awards.
Mohsin and Bishnoi took just 10 wickets each in IPL 2024, while Badoni scored just 235 runs in the lower middle order. But with Mohsin only 26 years old, Bishnoi and Badoni both 24, LSG consider them long-term prospects.
With five players retained, including two uncapped players, for a total of INR 51 crore, LSG has INR 69 crore left to spend in the auction. They have one game option to use if they want to bring back one of their players who has played four games.
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