Revamped LSG look to upgrade fortunes under Rishabh Pant

What's new with Lucknow Super Giants in the new cycle?

For a franchise which has played in the IPL for only three editions so far, Lucknow Super Giants have given a good account of themselves with two playoff appearances in the previous cycle. But after an underwhelming 2024 season, where they finished seventh, separation with former captain KL Rahul followed, leaving LSG to find a new captain at the helm. In came Rishabh Pant to don the blue of LSG for a whopping INR 27 crore, becoming the most expensive IPL player in the process. There was also a change in coaching staff as Zaheer Khan came in as the mentor for the side.

Heading into the auction, LSG opted for five retentions which included Nicholas Pooran (INR 21 Crore) alongside Indian players Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav for INR 11 Crore each while Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni were their uncapped retentions. They managed to bring back Avesh Khan and further strengthened their Indian pace bowling unit with the acquisition of Akash Deep. Despite the promise of pace, the attack is susceptible to injury as LSG are already sweating on the fitness of Mayank, Mohsin and Avesh.

LSG have also revamped their overseas roster of players with the hard-hitting David Miller, Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Breetzke, to add power to their batting department which faded away through the middle last season. They have also roped in South Africa's T20I captain Aiden Markram as previous signings Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis went elsewhere. In a new era under Pant, the Lucknow-based side will have a point to prove that they can have another successful campaign.

Full Squad:

Rishabh Pant (c), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddarth Digvesh Singh, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi

The best XII as things stand:

Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Akash Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddarth

Injury/Availability Concerns:

The Super Giants have a heavy reliance on their domestic players to shine this year with the ball in hand. However, the core of their fast-bowling attack are currently in a race against time to be fit for their IPL opener, namely - Mayank, Mohsin and Avesh. Mayank has not played a game since October 2024 since the three T20Is against Bangladesh while Mohsin too has only played three T20s and seven List-A games since last year's IPL.

To compound matters, Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has just recovered from a back injury which ruled him out of the recent Champions Trophy. A keen eye will be kept on his fitness and whether he can feature in all 14 games in the league phase while essaying his role of an all-rounder.

The player with a point to prove is:

Rishabh Pant: Being the IPL's most expensive player is not something to be brushed off lightly. Pant did not feature in the recently-concluded Champions Trophy or in the five-match T20I series against England in January despite being in both the squads. He will have a point to prove to the Indian selectors that he still belongs in the T20 circuit.

A player who could have a breakout season?

Akash Deep: The fast-bowler was purchased for INR 8 crore by LSG following his ascendancy to the Indian team. Having played only eight matches since he made his IPL debut in 2022, the fast-bowler could be a mainstay with LSG following injury concerns to the aforementioned pace trio.

Fixture build-up and run-in...

LSG begin their season with two away games - first against Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam and then have a short trip to Hyderabad to face the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They are scheduled to play their first home game on April 1 and play five of their allotted seven home games during the month. With the IPL well known to be rigorous when it comes to travel, LSG have a balanced schedule of travel this season. They only have a maximum of two away games at a stretch throughout before returning home for an equal number of fixtures.

A home ground stat to watchout for this season

165 - The Ekana stadium has the lowest average first-innings total across all the IPL venues since the venue was introduced to the IPL circuit in 2023. In this impact sub era where batters take the long-levers from ball one, it will be interesting to see whether the Lucknow tracks will be easier to bat on like the rest of the venues.

*statistical inputs provided by Deepu Narayanan