Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) roped in West Indies' young promising middle-order leftie Nicholas Pooran to their squad for the IPL 2023 after an eye-catching INR 16 crores bid on the Caribbean maverick at the mini-auction held in Kochi last Friday (December 23). 

That was LSG's heftiest pick at the bidding war, where they looked to bolster their squad from IPL 2022 after making the playoffs in their very first season. The KL Rahul-led side retained their core group of players and were left with INR 23.35 crores for the auction. 

Credit to the think-tank led by mentor Gautam Gambhir and head coach Andy Flower that even though LSG spent the majority of their sum on Pooran, they still found means to make some decent tactical inclusions to their set-up. 

LSG got all-rounders Romario Shepherd, and Daniel Sams, apart from pacers Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur and Afghanistan's Naveen-Ul-Haq. This list adds to their depth in that they now have backups to Marcus Stoinis and injury-prone Mark Wood and Mohsin Khan. 

Also Read: 

Predicted Mumbai Indians (MI) Playing XI, Complete IPL 2023 Squad, Captain, and Coaching Staff after Mini-auction

Complete LSG squad for IPL 2023 after mini-auction

Yash Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul (c), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Yudhvir Charak, Naveen-ul-Haq, Swapnil Singh, Prerak Mankad, Amit Mishra, Daniel Sams, Romario Shepherd, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi

Who will be the LSG Captain for IPL 2023?

KL Rahul retains LSG's captaincy for the forthcoming edition of the IPL after taking the side to the playoffs in their very first season at the helm. While Rahul's approach with bat in hand and his strike rate came for scrutiny from time to time, he emerged as a successful captain on the field for the first-timers. The Super Giants will be backing their skipper t come up with the goods again. 

Who are in LSG Coaching staff for IPL 2023? 

Mentor: Gautam Gambhir

Head coach: Andy Flower

Bowling coach: Andy Bichel 

Fielding coach: Richard Halsall 

Assistant coach (plus batting consultant): Vijay Dahiya 

Predicted LSG Playing XI for IPL 2023 

Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Mohsin Khan

LSG have their first XI more or less settled with the inclusion of Pooran in a middle-order that required a big-name overseas player. It gives the likes of Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni more breathing space to have Pooran and Stoinis bat around them, while also easing the life for De Kock-Rahul duo at the top and for Pandya at No.7. 

LSG desperately need Bishnoi to refind his mojo after an inconsistent season in IPL 2022 and for Mohsin to keep the second season blues at bay and continue on impressing everyone with the ball. The team also need Wood to be fit and firing, which solves their death-overs puzzle and also helps a struggling Avesh Khan get back to his best. 

Their squad gives them ample scope to bring in adequate backups when required. Why, they picked Shepherd and Sams for Stoinis and have Krishnappa Gowtham to come in for Krunal if required. Similarly, they have got spin backups available to them in the form of Karn Sharma and the experienced Amit Mishra. If Avesh's struggles persist, they can rope in Unadkat in their first-choice pace attack. 

As for their 'Impact Player' picks, LSG could consider identifying Gowtham, the off-spinner, to tackle certain left-handed batting match-ups. And if they feel their middle-order is filled with one overseas option too many, they may consider asking a Manan Vohra or Prerak Mankad to come in as a substitute to handle the opposition spinners. An Unadkat-Avesh swap to ensure leash and control can't be disregarded as well.