Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul may not be a part of the franchise in the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022, Cricbuzz reported. The right-handed opener is expected to go under the hammer in IPL 2022 auction as he has been approached by a few franchises.

KL Rahul, who is the leading run-scorer in the IPL 2021 with 626 runs, has been leading the Punjab-based for the last two years.

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are yet to announce the retention policy for the next season, there is only little ambiguity on how many retentions and Right To Match (RTM) cards will be made available for a franchise.

Should an RTM card be made available to a franchise, they can use it for their current players. As per a Cricbuzz report, the separation between KL Rahul and the Punjab-based franchise will be an amicable one.

The Karnataka batsman, who is currently in the Indian bubble for the T20 World Cup, is yet to comment on the news. Talking about the development, a Punjab Kings official has discredited the news.

“KL Rahul has emerged as one of the leaders of the team over his two seasons with Kings XI Punjab,” the Punjab-based franchise’s CEO Satish Menon had pointed out during the annoucement.

“He’s versatile as well – he has been willing to make sacrifices for the team, wicketkeeping and opening, providing us more flexibility in our approach. He is very simply the natural choice to lead,” CEO added.

“I would like to thank Kings XI Punjab (named changed to Punjab Kings) for having their faith in me and giving me the responsibility to lead the team,” the flambuoyant batsman had said. “I am looking forward to this role. We have had a good auction as well, so I can’t wait for the IPL to begin!” he had said.