Image Credit- BCCI
With eight victories
from 14 games, LSG’s batting ran out of gas in the Eliminator and was destroyed
by the Mumbai Indians, despite finishing third on the points table.
Due to a hamstring injury, captain KL Rahul missed the second half of the 2023
Indian Premier League. He has been out for nearly two months due to a quadricep
tendon injury, nearly a year later. The PTI revealed on Monday that he will be
fit for LSG’s opening game after receiving the all-clear from the NCA, despite
the BCCI not providing any information on him when they released the latest on
Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, and Prasidh Krishna in the run-up to the IPL.
There’s one change
in their bowling ranks. Before the T20 World Cup in June, the ECB decided to
control fast bowler Mark Wood’s workload by benching him. Shamar Joseph, the
newest phenomenon in pace from the West Indies, has taken his place.
At the 2024 auction, LSG added Shivam Mavi, David Willey, Arshad Khan, and
Arshin Kulkarni—who rose to prominence in the recent Under-19 World Cup—to
their seam-bowling roster. The lone spinner they brought in to provide backup
for Ravi Bishnoi was M Siddharth.
They signed hard-hitting middle-order batsman Ashton Turner at the auction and
traded in Devdutt Padikkal, who was just awarded a Test cap, to improve their
batting.
LSG has also made adjustments to their coaching staff.
They hired Lance Klusener as assistant coach and Justin Langer as head coach
after deciding not to extend Andy Flower’s contract. Langer has won three BBL
titles with the Perth Scorchers and the T20 World Cup with Australia in 2021,
but this will be his first IPL job.
Rahul might bat in the middle order this IPL because he has adequate top-order
options in Padikkal, de Kock, Kyle Mayers, and Deepak Hooda. Pooran and Marcus
Stoinis, who pose a serious threat to any bowling attack, will go with him.
However, they failed to account for the absence of runs from Indian batters
during the previous game, particularly in the Eliminator. Hooda only scored 84
runs throughout the 12 innings. The LSG management would be hoping for much
better returns this time.
Their Naveen-ul-Haq
is a combative one. Yash Thakur is a costly yet effective wicket-taking
alternative. a vibrant Shamar Joseph who has only participated in two T20s so
far. A deeply insightful Mohsin Khan.
The big-name fast bowler who can spearhead the assault and has demonstrated his
abilities on the international scene for a number of years is what this lineup
lacks. Among the top 20 wicket-takers in the last IPL, Thakur was their sole
quick player. The sooner one of them climbs that list this time around, the
better LSG’s season would be.
LSG play four games
in the fixtures announced so far, with a spread-out schedule. After their
opener against Rajasthan Royals on the first Sunday of this IPL, they have a
five-day gap. Then they have two matches in four days and a four-day gap before
returning to Lucknow for their second home game.