How will LSG fill the void of Jason Holder?


image-larwn69cJason Holder has been released by LSG (Source: iplt20.com)

Lucknow Super Giants made their IPL debut in 2022 season. They were off to a good start to their journey as they managed to finish in the top 4 of the points table. 

As new franchise trying to maintain their good start to the IPL journey, the Super Giants are looking to make a few changes ahead of the 2023 season. They have released 7 players ahead of the mini-auction and will be looking to fill some spots during the event on the 23rd of December, 2022. 

Players Released by Lucknow Super Giants

  1.  Andrew Tye 
  2. Ankit Rajpoot 
  3. Dushmantha Chameera
  4. Evin Lewis
  5. Jason Holder
  6. Manish Pandey
  7. Shahbaz Nadeem

The biggest names in the release list of LSG is that of Jason Holder. However, moving forward let us take a look at the resources they have now left with them. 

Batters: KL Rahul (INR 17 Cr), Quinton de Kock (INR 6.75 Cr), Manan Vohra (INR 20 Lakhs), Ayush Badoni (INR 20 Lakhs)

Bowlers: Ravi Bishnoi (INR 4 Cr), Mark Wood (INR 7.50 Cr), Avesh Khan (INR 10 Cr), Mohsin Khan (INR 20 Lakhs), Mayank Yadav (INR 20 Lakhs)

All-Rounders: Marcus Stoinis (INR 9.2 Cr), Deepak Hooda (INR 5.75 Cr), Krunal Pandya (INR 8.25 Cr), Krishanppa Gowtham (INR 90 Lakhs), Kyle Mayers (INR 50 Laks), Karan Sharma (INR 20 Lakhs)

Purse Remaining: INR 23.33 Cr

Total Spots Left: 10

Overseas Spots Left: 4

Spots to be filled

There is only one major concern in the team that they have at present. That is  the availability of Mark Wood. If he gets injured or decides to withdraw his name from the tournament, then LSG will be left wanting for premium pacer. So, the team management might look to go after a foreign premium pacer as a replacement ready for Wood's case. 

The other spot the LSG will be looking to fill up is the void that has been created by the release of Jason Holder. With 4 overseas spots left, LSG will surely look to go for a like to like replacement of Holder or they may even opt to buy him back. 

So in the conclusion we may say that, in the mini auction the prime focus of the LSG team management will be on:

  • A premium pacer as a back up of Mark Wood
  • A bowling all-rounder like Jason Holder

Besides these two prime spots, LSG might try and get some budget picks to create a string back up pool for the main players. In case of long tournaments like IPL, the teams try to keep themselves prepared for the mishaps such as injury and unavailability of the prime players. 

Target Players

As a back up of Wood, LSG can go after names like Sheldon Cottrell, Joshua Little, Adam Milne, Riley Meredith and  Tymal Mills. 

As mentioned earlier, they can try and buy back Jason Holder, but if thats not the case they can look for a replacement in Daryl Mitchell, Dominic Drakes, Chamika Karunaratne, Dwayne Bravo or Chris Jordan. 


Also Read: Rajasthan's Mini-Auction Strategy: IPL 2023 Squad