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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of the youngest franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is gearing up for the IPL 2024 auction to strengthen what already appears to be a formidable unit. Having appointed former Australian cricketer Justin Langer as their head coach in July, earlier this year, the team will go into bidding wars on December 19 in Dubai, the UAE. Despite their recent entry into the league, LSG has displayed remarkable performance, reaching the playoffs in both of their previous seasons.
Even when their captain, KL Rahul, was sidelined due to injury in the latter part of IPL 2023, the team showcased resilience and secured a playoff berth.
Demonstrating confidence in their existing squad, LSG has kept up with a substantial core, retaining 19 players, which leaves them with a purse of INR 13.5 crore, the smallest among all franchises.
With six slots yet to be filled, including two for overseas players, the UP-based team is poised to make strategic additions to complement their established roster in the upcoming auction, aiming to go all the way in IPL 2024.
LSG’s retained player list for IPL 2024
KL Rahul (c & wk)
Quinton de Kock
Ravi Bishnoi
Mohsin Khan
Mark Wood
Marcus Stoinis
Kyle Mayers
Ayush Badoni
Deepak Hooda
Krunal Pandya
Nichola Pooran
Yash Thakur
Amit Mishra
Prerak Mankad
Naveen-ul-Haq
Yudhvir Singh
Mayank Yadav
K Gowtham
Devdutt Padikkal (traded from RR)
LSG’s strategy for IPL 2024 auction
LSG, having held on to most of their 2023 team, looks like a stable unit. The batting, with captain KL Rahul, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis, has enough firepower to take them all the way this time around.
KL Rahul had an unfortunate injury in the middle of the season last time but Marcus Stoinis (408), Kyle Mayers (379) and Nicholas Pooran (358) peaked at the right time to help the team through.
There was, however, one loophole in the batting unit – the absence of a solid No. 3, ideally an Indian. LSG tried several options, including Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni and even Krunal Pandya at one instance, for the one-down slot, but none of them clicked.
The trade window was used effectively by LSG when they swapped pacer Avesh Khan for Devdutt Padikkal from Rajasthan Royals, filling the missing piece of the puzzle in the star-studded batting line-up. The southpaw amassed 465 runs for Karnataka in just 6 matches at a whopping average of 155.00 in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-24.
But with the departure of Avesh Khan, LSG need a pacer that can support Mark Wood and Naveen-ul-Haq. Ideally, they should go for a proven big match-winner that can lead the pace battery.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Lockie Ferguson of New Zealand and South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee, who shone with his raw pace in the 2023 ODI World Cup should be on LSG’s radar.
However, all these bowlers come with a base price of Rs 2 crore and could witness a bidding war. And given the limited budget of LSG, it can get tricky for Justin Langer and Co.
LSG can also add a little extra firepower to their bench in case of an unforeseen scenario. The management can opt for an Indian pacer like Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Mavi, Chetan Sakariya and Yash Dayal.
Apart from a pacer, a strong lower middle-order batter that can help finish games will be crucial to LSG’s line-up.
New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell and Chennai’s Shahrukh Khan will be the suitable options for the side. The latter, however, is expected to have plenty of takers given his impressive World Cup campaign. Mitchell scored 552 runs in nine innings for the Kiwis, smashing two tons and two fifties.
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