IPL 2023: The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were one of the two teams who made their debut this year. They were touted to be one of the favorites pre-season owing to the team they managed to assemble in the auctions. LSG had picked KL Rahul as their first pick from the players’ draft. They had no qualms in appointing him, captain. LSG later picked Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi ahead of the auctions. Let’s Have a look at Players LSG Might Release Before IPL 2023.
What went right for LSG in IPL 2022?
A lot of things did go right for LSG in their debut season. They topped the table as well albeit briefly. KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock were the best opening pair in the tournament. Deepak Hooda batting in the top-order this season came good. Their pace bowling attack was impressive. Mohsin Khan playing his debut IPL was flat-out brilliant. They have quite a good core to build on for the future.
What hurt LSG in IPL 2022?
It was their middle order that let them down. Manish Pandey, Ayush Badoni, and Krunal Pandya all failed to stitch a series of good scores. The form of Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis with the bat too hurt them. Bishnoi couldn’t deliver the magic that was expected of him. No other seamer stepped up to partner Mohsin at the business end of the tournament.
We look at 3 players who LSG might release ahead of IPL 2023:
#3 Shahbaz Nadeem
Shahbaz Nadeem enjoyed a fruitful run in the early part of the last decade. Representing Delhi, Nadeem was quite a handful on helpful wickets. He also played a crucial role in SRH’s plans. But Nadeem is not a frontline spinner anymore. The fact that he is a uni-dimensional player regularly restricts his chances of featuring in the XI. It won’t be a surprise if LSG releases Nadeem before next season.
#2 Andrew Tye
He won the purple cap back in 2018 wherein he bagged 24 wickets. But since then it has been pretty much downhill for Andrew Tye. He has played 10 games across 3 seasons picking just 6 wickets. Tye is not getting any younger at 35. LSG prized him for INR 1 crore in the auction. But they might look to release him ahead of the auctions next year.
#1 Manish Pandey
The T20 game has evolved rapidly ever since Manish Pandey became the first Indian batsman to score an IPL century. But this season it appeared as if the world has fast passed Pandey. The once all-format prospect, Pandey looked at odds batting for LSG. It was evident that Gautam Gambhir punted big on Pandey in the auctions.
But sadly he couldn’t repay the faith shown in him. He amassed a measly 88 runs in 6 games at an average of 14.67 striking at 110. LSG is almost certain to release Pandey ahead of the next season.
