After bowing out in the Eliminator last season, Lucknow Super Giants will be beginning their IPL 2023 campaign against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. The KL Rahul-led side, filled with the likes of Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda, will now be joined by the explosive wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran. As Quinton de Kock the first few matches, it will be interesting to see that what will be the Playing XI for LSG in the opening encounter.
Ahead of their first game of the season, here’s what we think could be LSG’s playing XI against DC:
KL Rahul: The 31-year-old batter totally justified his role for LSG after he smashed a whopping total of 616 runs in 15 matches, laced with 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries. Despite having a tough time on the international front, Rahul redeemed himself with a match-winning knock against Australia in the 1st ODI. He will now look for a promising IPL 2023 season.
Kyle Mayers: The powerful West Indies batter is yet to make his IPL debut and in the absence of Quinton de Kock, he will be best option as the opening partner of Rahul.
Deepak Hooda: The 28-year-old batter scored 451 runs in 15 matches last season, with four half-centuries to his name.
Nicholas Pooran: Bought for Rs 16 crore, the former West Indies skipper will be the perfect wicketkeeping option for LSG, in the absence of de Kock. The aggressive batter had a decent outing last season as he scored 306 runs in 14 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Marcus Stoinis: The Australia all-rounder is known for his powerful batting and tremendous bowling performance. However, he could not produce a promising result previous season but definitely find a place in the Playing XI for the opening match.
Ayush Badoni: The 23-year-old batter really impressed everyone with his blistering batting performance last season. In 13 matches, he smashed a whopping total of 161 runs, with the highest score of 54.
Krunal Pandya: The 32-year-old all-rounder was impressive both with the bat and ball and played a crucial role in the team. He will definitely look for delivering a better performance for his team this season.
Jaydev Unadkat: Played for Mumbai Indians in 2022, the senior pacer scalped six wickets in five matches. Now signed by LSG, Unadkat will look for a memorable spell in order to leave a mark this year.
Avesh Khan: Bought at a whopping total of Rs 10 crore in 2022, Avesh scalped 18 wickets in 13 matches, including a four-wicket haul. He will definitely have a place in the Playing XI for the opening match.
Mark Wood: Bought for Rs 7.5 crore last season, England pacer Mark Wood is yet to play his first game for LSG. There are chances that he might play his first match for Lucknow against Delhi Capitals.
Ravi Bishnoi: The young India spinner has been one of the top picks of Lucknow. Drafted at Rs 4 crore, Bishnoi took 13 wickets in 14 matches and will aim for more this season.
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