The Team
Being one of the relatively inexperienced franchises, Lucknow Super Giants have not done badly in their three years in the Indian Premier League. They have not reached the final yet, but qualifying for the playoffs and finishing third on both occasions in 2022 and 2023 can’t be called bad.
However, what perhaps pricked their pride was the seventh-place finish in 2024. They won seven and lost seven of their 14 matches, which was not enough. This is an ambitious team. They believe they can do better than they have so far. There are indications that the team owners and coaches have thought afresh. Leaving out KL Rahul from the list of players retained is an indication of their new thought process. They are ready for harsh calls, in order to reach their goal.
Auction Purse
After spending Rs 51 crore in retaining five players, LSG will need a clear and calculated strategy at the auctions. They have Rs 69 crore remaining in their kitty. It looks substantial in one way, but not quite when you consider that they have a quite a few buying to do. If two more players cost them around Rs 20 crore or thereabouts, they will not have a lot of money to recruit the rest, assuming that each franchise will go in with a roster of around 20 players.
Retaining Nicholas Pooran (Rs 21 crore), Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav (Rs 11 crore each) and the uncapped duo of Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan (Rs 4 crore each) means they have just about ticked a few boxes. Both Yadav and Mohsin have had fitness issues. They need back-ups and smart buys. Going for the spectacular and paying a fortune for an individual may be counterproductive.
Areas they need to strengthen
Securing the services of two Indian fast bowlers suggests they have some part of this department covered. If they remain fit — and that’s a big if — Yadav and Mohsin can be a handful. But they still need more fast bowlers and spinners. Bishnoi seems to be an investment with an eye on the future, but they need more. Once again, they have to shop sensibly instead of going for broke on one.
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While Pooran is a “natural choice” for retaining, as pointed by team owner Sanjiv Goenka, this team needs a lot of reinforcements in batting. Badoni is another who they have kept. They have to have about at least five more batters. The requirement is stronger in batting than bowling, as far as this team goes. It’s not going to be an easy auction for this LSG side.
Players they would target
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer —there are two former IPL captains in that auction list. Both can be handy additions because LSG would perhaps prefer someone with some leading experience. The problem is, even one of them will cost a bomb. Phil Salt, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aiden Markram, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tripathi or even David Warner and Quinton de Kock — there are more names to choose from.
As far as all-rounders go, there are several including Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Liam Livingstone. Washington Sundar is another prominent name. When it comes to pure bowlers, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Anrich Nortje, Noor Ahmad, Rahul Chahar and Vaibhav Arora will perhaps be on the radar of more than one franchises. Let’s see, what the LSG management goes for.
Players they would like to buy back
They can only buy back one, since they have already done that with five. One Right to Match (RTM) card remains with LSG. De Kock, Stoinis and Krunal Pandya appear to be the leaders in that race before the action shifts to Jeddah. No one can say for certain, the team might as well go for someone like Naveen-ul-Haq. That said, this is going to be another tricky call.
Also Read: Rajasthan Royals – Thin purse and plenty to add on