Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made numerous baffling calls, and their auction strategy was shocking.
The IPL 2025 auction is finally done and dusted, and teams are locked in. Most sides are well-settled and have got what they wanted. Their auction strategy was understandable as they looked to fill the vacant slots.
However, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made numerous baffling calls, and their auction strategy was shocking. The focus was on getting more bowlers, but even in that department, LSG failed to get quality options.
We pin down all errors made by LSG during their squad formation in the IPL 2025 auction.
This mega auction had a vast player pool, and LSG still got no quality player to open the innings. Their openers are Aiden Markram and Matthew Breetzke, who aren’t proven at the IPL level. Further, they have Mitchell Marsh, who historically bats at No.3, and Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t opened in T20s for a while.
There is a young opener Yuvraj Chaudhary, but he is also untested at this level. That means LSG must open with Rishabh Pant and one unproven batter. It can backfire, given that LSG might not utilise powerplay properly.
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LSG are likely to slot Mitchell Marsh at No.3, who is a pace-hitter. At No.4, they might keep Nicholas Pooran, a spin-hitter. Ayush Badoni struggled vs spin last season, while David Miller is a pace specialist.
That leaves a vacancy for a spin-hitter to partner Pooran, with the team lined up with a range of pace-hitters. Teams having a quality spin attack can restrict their batting unit easily.
There are at least three players vulnerable to injuries in LSG’s strongest playing XI. Mitchell Marsh often gets injured while playing a few matches, while the main Indian pacers – Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav – have a history of injuries.
These three are expected to start in all games and can crumble anytime. This also means they can’t afford to rest and rotate their players at any stage. Their squad formation allows no room for a breather for any main players.
The depth in backups is negligible as if the first XI didn’t have too many issues already. There are no backups for most first-choice batters, and even the bowling backups aren’t rich in experience. Most of them have little to no experience playing in the league.
LSG didn’t even think of buying solid players for XI, let alone building backups. Maybe a few possess quality, but only some have played at this level, and IPL is several notches higher than other tournaments. LSG should have looked to cover backups with players with some previous experience featuring in the league.
If you look at their player acquisition, it’s hard to form a settled XI. They must play several players out of position to fill a XI. They spent a big sum on Rishabh Pant and didn’t cover other areas properly.
Most haven’t done anything significant in the league and can fail heavily. Now combine that with their injury-prone first-choice players, LSG can be in massive trouble midway through the season. If any of them get injured at some stage, putting a good XI will be trouble for LSG.
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