Mayank Yadav's injury has left Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with several questions ahead of the IPL 2025.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are entering a new era in their Indian Premier League (IPL) journey, having pressed a reset button after three seasons. They made it into the playoffs in the first two editions but had to settle for the seventh spot last year. LSG will be hoping to get back in the top four in IPL 2025 and go on to clinch their maiden title.
At the mega auction, LSG broke the bank for Rishabh Pant, spending INR 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. He will be leading the team in IPL 2025. Here, we discuss where he should bat and what their best-playing XI could look like.
Rishabh Pant spent his early years at the top of the order before the then Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid turned him into a middle-order batter. Pant gave justice to the great man’s trust and had a few terrific years in the IPL.
However, in the last few years, Pant hasn’t been as effective in that role. He gets stuck often and loses his shape while trying to hit too hard. Additionally, LSG have two more left-hand batters in the middle order – Nicholas Pooran and David Miller.
Moving to the top of the order can help Pant unleash his true potential. He can take his time and make use of the powerplay restrictions. The move could solve multiple issues for the team.
Mayank Yadav, when fully fit, is the best bowler in the LSG side. But he is set to miss the first half of the season, which leaves them in a massive hole. There are a couple of approaches they can take to address his absence.
The first one is to include Shamar Joseph. The Caribbean speedster has the potential but doesn’t have a proven T20 record yet. Having him also weakens their batting unit as they would have to play an inexperienced domestic batter.
LSG’s better option would be to pack their batting unit with four overseas batters and back their Indian pace options. Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, and Akash Deep have good enough experience.
Nicholas Pooran is one of the best strikers of the ball in T20 cricket. He generally plays in the top four in international cricket and other leagues. However, in the IPL, teams (SRH & LSG) have used him as more of a finisher.
Pooran has had tremendous success in both roles. At number five, he averages 50 and strikes 174 since the start of 2024. At No.3 and 4, he has an average of 38 and strike rate of 154.
With David Miller behind him, LSG can afford to send Pooran a bit earlier, so that he can take on spinners in the middle overs.
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Manimaran Siddharth is one of the best spinners in the country and should be the first-choice Impact Player substitute. He has 21 wickets in 12 T20 games at an economy of 5.19. Siddharth brings variety to the LSG bowling attack.
In case LSG needs to boost their batting further, they can use Shahbaz Ahmed. He is a decent player with the bat and offers a left-arm orthodox spin option.
LSG can try another tactical move where they can hold their fourth overseas spot and use it depending on the situation. At times when they don’t need the services of Miller, they can bring in Shamar Joseph as the Impact sub to bolster their bowling attack.
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