West Indies wicket-keeper batter Nicholas Pooran is all set to be retained by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 20 crore, according to a report by Times of India. The report claimed that LSG have finalised Pooran as their first retention pick and he can become one of the costliest retentions in the history of the competition. Several media reports have already claimed that LSG will not be retaining KL Rahul but that does not make Pooran the automatic captaincy choice. According to TOI, LSG will wait for the auction to make that decision and they can also go for Rishabh Pant if he becomes available.

“There is a buzz in IPL circles that LSG have agreed to pay Pooran over Rs 20 crore to retain him ahead of the mega auction. The agreement between the two parties was reached in two minutes after consultation with mentor Zaheer Khan and coach Justin Langer,” IPL sources said.

The report added that fast bowler Mayank Yadav and spinner Ravi Bishnoi are the other guaranteed retentions apart from Pooran.

“There is a chance that Lucknow will spend Rs 40 crore on retaining overseas and capped players like Pooran, Mayank and Bishnoi. Uncapped players like Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan will be paid as per understanding with the players and the franchise,” sources said.

Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are set to retain Australian batter Travis Head and young Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy as their final two capped players ahead of the IPL auction.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Head will be retained for Rs 14 crore, while Reddy will secure a deal worth Rs 6 crore.

With these two key retentions, SRH have now finalized their quota of five capped players before the auction, solidifying the core team that propelled them to the IPL 2024 final.

(With ANI inputs)