'Want to play where I find freedom': KL Rahul's strong response to Sanjiv Goenka's 'players with mindset to win' remark

A controversy triggered involving the ex-LSG skipper and the owner in the previous season (Screengrab)

KL Rahul is no longer part of India's T20I setup and was also released by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL mega auction, which takes place on November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The star batter, who has experienced a bit of slump in his form, has listed himself under the Rs 2 crore bracket and is expected to be among the major attractions in the two-day event.

Rahul in a promotional video shared by Star Sports opened up about ending his three-year association with LSG, a franchise he led since its introduction in the IPL roster. "I wanted to start fresh. I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom, where the team atmosphere could be something lighter. Sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself," said Rahul in the video.

KL RAHUL WANTS TO RETURN INTO INDIAN T20I TEAM- The mission is on for IPL 2025....!!!!Dont miss this exclusive chat on November 12th, 10 PM, only on Star Sports! #IPLAuctionOnStarpic.twitter.com/EKAtV3F4R8

Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 11, 2024

Rahul was let go from the franchise despite finishing as the leading run-scorer in the previous edition. He accumulated a staggering 520 runs from 14 encounters, but his strike-rate (136.12) was an area of concern. In comparison Nicholas Pooran, one of the five retained players from LSG, accumulated 499 runs from the same number of matches and a much better strike-rate of 178.21.

Earlier discussing the retentions, team owner Sanjiv Goenka had mentioned that the franchise retained players with mindset to put the team first before their personal goals. "It was a simple mindset to go in with players who have a mindset to win, who put the team first before their personal goals and personal aspirations and we wanted to retain as much as of core we could," said Goenka.

A controversy triggered involving the ex-LSG skipper and the owner in the previous season. Following a 10-wicket drubbing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), TV cameras had captured Goenka engage in an animated chat with Rahul. Goenka was then seen gesturing his hands at Rahul, who stood there and listened.