Most expensive player in IPL? KL Rahul offered staggering amount by Lucknow franchise - Report

KL Rahul has is likely to part ways with Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction as he has already told the franchise about his desire to leave after leading the team for two seasons. Rahul is one of the top Indian players who will be released by their respective franchise and are set to trigger a bidding war at the mega auction.

While the existing eight teams have been allowed a maximum of four retentions each, the two new teams - Ahmedabad and Lucknow can pick three players each from the pool of non-retained players. Rahul is reportedly in negotiations with the Lucknow franchise and is unlikely to go into the auction pool.

As per a report, the Lucknow franchise has offered a staggering amount of salary to Team India's T20 vice-captain. Rahul has been offered more than a whopping Rs 20 crore (INR 200 million) by the Lucknow franchise, as per Insidesport.in. If true, Rahul will become the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Virat Kohli, who stepped down as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore after the conclusion of the IPL 2021, has had the highest salary so far in the history of IPL. He was on a salary of Rs 17 crore from the 2018 to 2021 season with RCB. Rahul, who used to earn Rs 11 crore at Punjab Kings, has reportedly been offered a hike of a staggering Rs 9 crore.

If Rahul decides to stay at PBKS, he is free to negotiate a higher salary than the defined slab of Rs 16 crore (INR 160 million) for the first-choice retained player as the BCCI has stated in the rules that the franchise can give the retained players a higher salary and forfeit the same amount from their total purse.

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However, Rahul looks unlikely to stay at Punjab Kings after failing to inspire the side to their maiden title in his two seasons as captain. While the team didn't taste much success, Rahul had brilliant campaigns on the individual front. He scored 626 runs in 13 matches last season and was the third-highest run-getter in IPL 2021.

Rahul has so far played 94 matches in IPL and has 3273 runs to his name at an average of over 41. He is likely to lead the Lucknow franchise if he decides to join the team ahead of IPL 2022.