The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises did not dish out any major surprises as we pretty much had an idea which players ranked higher in every franchise’s priority list.

While some top names like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni took a major pay cut, uncapped Indian players like Varun Chakaravarthy (8 cr), Venkatesh Iyer (8 cr), Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 cr), Abdul Samad and Arshdeep Singh (both 4 cr) saw their hit the roof -- they were previously on a 20 lakh annual contract-- after their respective franchises showed faith in their talent.

A complete breakdown of the VIVO IPL 2022 Player Retention.

More details here - https://t.co/osE28OG4VS #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/TcTpKaznKd

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 30, 2021

Some of the big names who lit up the tournament with their performances were left out of the retention list due to various reasons. But the biggest name that’s making the headlines is former Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul, with reports suggesting that he was allegedly approached by the new Lucknow franchise.

The RPGS Group-backed franchise has allegedly offered Rahul a huge pay check of more than Rs 20 crore to ditch the Punjab-based outfit and become a leader of their team.

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And as expected Rahul didn’t feature in the IPL player retention list as he rejected the offers made by the PBKS management and decided to go back into the auction. However, it will be interesting to see if he indeed goes to the auction or joins one of the two new franchises before that. 

Given Rahul’s performance in the last few years, it was only natural that the team based out of Mohali wanted to keep a hold of him but the opener decided to look for a fresh challenge. As of now nobody can tell if it was Rahul’s own decision or if he initiated back-channel talks with a new IPL team regarding his future.

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Opening up on the matter for the first time, PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia said that they obviously wanted to retain Rahul and added that if he was approached by another franchise with the retention window still open, then it would be “unethical” and “against BCCI guidelines”. 

“We wanted to retain Rahul but he wanted to go back into the auction. If he has been approached by another franchise before that, it would be unethical,” Ness Wadia was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

The new Lucknow franchise has reportedly offered KL Rahul - 20 crores and Rashid Khan - 16 crores to join their team.
(Via - InsideSport) #KLRahul #IPLretention #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/9FbXJK9oPA

— Sumer veera Viratian 18 (@SumerViratian) November 29, 2021

“I hope not because that is against the guidelines set by the BCCI,” he added. 

Apart from Rahul, another star player who was allegedly approached by the Lucknow franchise was Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and even rejected the offers made by SunRisers Hyderabad.

Take a look at the @SunRisers retention list #VIVOIPLRetention pic.twitter.com/fXv62OyAkA

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 30, 2021

According to reports, the BCCI has received a verbal complaint from both the franchises against Lucknow’s illegal approach and if the players are found guilty, they could be banned from IPL for one year.

Here's the @PunjabKingsIPL retention list #VIVOIPLRetention pic.twitter.com/ABl5TWLFhG

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 30, 2021

With KL Rahul deciding to part ways, the franchise decided to retain only two players Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh -- least among all teams. However, this is not something they are new to. They have done it many times in the past. 

All I can think of seeing this is Preity Zinta's paddle being up for every player pic.twitter.com/75lcbvWALs

— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) November 30, 2021

If letting go of their biggest asset was a setback, the only positive to come out of all this is that they will enter the auction with the highest purse (Rs 72 crore) among all existing eight teams, which allows them to bid aggressively in the upcoming mega auction.

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