They have four overseas spots to fill.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) announced their IPL 2026 retentions on November 15 as they look to bolster their squad for the next season. The LSG auction 2026 strategy will revolve around plugging the holes with the budget they have.
The LSG released players 2026 list did not have any major shocks. The franchise decided to let go of David Miller and Ravi Bishnoi, which was pretty much expected after the season they had. They also released a few other players and will need to bring in reinforcements. We take a look at LSG auction 2026 strategy, budget, and their potential targets.
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The LSG retention list 2026 featured their top stars such as Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni, and Aiden Markram. The franchise continues to trust their young pacers and have opted to retain Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan. Ahead of the retention deadline, LSG had brought in Mohammed Shami via an all-cash trade.
Apart from Miller and Bishnoi, other names who could not make it into the LSG retained players 2026 included Shamar Joseph, Akash Deep, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Aryan Juyal, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
After finalising the IPL retentions, Lucknow Super Giants have a budget of INR 22.95 crore heading into the auction. The LSG remaining purse is the fourth highest — behind Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
To assess the likely LSG auction 2026 strategy, we first need to understand how their starting XI looks like and what they lack. Looking at the current LSG squad 2026, here is how their likely playing XI shapes up:
As we can see, LSG have most of their line-up sorted on paper. They need to figure out a couple of more first-choice players. The LSG auction 2026 strategy should be to find a top overseas finisher on high priority. They also need a couple of overseas pace options, as they have none. Given the injury-prone nature of their Indian fast bowlers, they will have to get more backups.
Here is what LSG targets IPL 2026 auction include:
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Considering their budget and requirements, the LSG auction 2026 strategy will be to secure quality overseas players. Let’s take a look at the major LSG target players in the IPL 2026 auction.
Andre Russell was released by Kolkata Knight Riders, and he will be in high demand in the auction. Although at the back end of his career, Russell can still be a valuable asset to LSG. He would fit in the team perfectly, and his bowling would be an added bonus. Russell will be high on the LSG target players list in the IPL 2026 auction.
The star Australia all-rounder is set to be the main attraction in the IPL 2026 auction. Cameron Green can bat in the middle order and can bowl at a good pace. Considering his all-round value and age, Green will be amongst the LSG target players.
Liam Livingstone will be another option in the LSG targets IPL 2026 auction for the lower middle order role. The Englishman is known to be a strong hitter of pace bowling and can do the finishing role. He also provides another dimension with leg-spin and off-spin bowling.
The LSG auction 2026 strategy will include getting a couple of overseas pace options. Last season, they had Shamar Joseph and, later, Will O’Rourke as a temporary replacement. Matt Henry, who has been sensational across formats, could be a good fit in this squad.
Another Kiwi pacer who could be among the LSG target players. He has been terrific in the shorter format of the game and is likely to garner some attention in the mini auction.
Rahul Chahar could be one of the LSG targets IPL 2026 auction as a backup spin option. They released Ravi Bishnoi and Divesh Rathi’s form going down, they would need another spinner they can slot into the playing XI.
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