Do the 'Super Giants' have the firepower to clinch their maiden title?

image-lc2faogzLSG will look to get better results this season after being knocked out in the playoffs last season (Source: Twitter)

The Post-auction hangover is still on, and it's time to figure out how the respective franchises have fared in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. 

Among all other franchises, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) had the third-highest purse remaining before the auction day with INR 23.35 CR. 

Like any other franchise, the Sanjeev Goenka-owned team had a few bases to cover. We shall quickly look at the players they've bucketed concerning the voids needed to be filled and accordingly rate them.

Pre-auction Squad

KL Rahul (C), Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra

Purse Remaining: 23.35 CR
Slots left: 10
Overseas slots left: 4

Post-auction Squad

KL Rahul (C), Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Nicholas Pooran, Amit Mishra, Daniel Sams, Swapnil Singh, Prerak Mankad, Naveen Ul Haq, Yudhvir Singh

What LSG required before the IPL Auction 2023?

  • A proper middle-order batter
  • Backup pacer for Mark Wood
  • Indian pacers pool
  • An all-rounder who can be a good finisher

List of Players LSG bought in the IPL auction

  • Nicholas Pooran - 16 Cr. 
  • Jaydev Undakat - 50 L
  • Yash Thakur- 45 L
  • Romario Shepherd - 50 L
  • Amit Mishra - 50 L
  • Prerak Mankad - 20 L
  • Daniel Sams - 75 L
  • Naveen-ul-Haq- 50 L
  • Yudhvir Singh Charak- 20 L
  • Swapnil Singh- 20 L

Key Takeaways

1. Nicholas Pooran for whooping 16 Crores 

image-lc2fgqvbNicholas Pooran has seen a dip when it comes to his form in recent months (Source: Twitter)

Known for his strong striking abilities, Nicholas Pooran has been scalped for a jaw-dropping INR 16 Crores. This is also the fourth-highest price of the recently concluded trade. 

But is Nicholas Pooran worth 16 Crore at the moment? We shall quickly gaze at what the numbers speak.

Pooran in T20Is (2021): 484 runs in 21 innings with an average of 25.47
Pooran in T20Is (2020): 582 runs in 22 innings with an average of 29.10

LSG needed a middle-order batter, and they found Nicholas Pooran as the option. The numbers above state how low his graph has gone regarding batting in the middle order. This is the same batter who once averaged 41 in T20Is (in 2018). 

The former West Indies skipper does come with a lot of promise, but Gautam Gambhir and co. have gone over the budget for Pooran. Someone like Daryl Mitchell (Unsold) or Dawid Malan (Unsold) would've helped their cause on a low budget.

2. Plethora of all-rounders

Talk about all-rounders; the KL Rahul-led side has ten in their ranks. Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, and Swapnil Singh are the latest additions. 

LSG needed a replacement for Jason Holder and found two in the form of Romario Shepherd and Daniel Sams. Both of them can act as floaters and bring out a storm in any situation of a match. This is undoubtedly a win for them.

3. Who is Mark Wood's backup?

One of the bases that LSG needed to cover was a backup for Mark Wood. It will not be wrong to say that Wood is an injury-prone player, and it's hard to think he will be available for all 14 matches of the season.  

LSG has scalped Naveen Ul-Haq as an overseas raw pacer who has been impressive in the recently concluded Abu Dhabi T10 League. The right-arm pacer from Afghanistan can certainly be a great backup and is also terrific in the slog overs.

Auction Rating: 6.5/10

LSG Probable Playing XI

  1. KL Rahul (c)
  2. Quinton de Kock (wk) ✈️
  3. Deepak Hooda
  4. Nicholas Pooran ✈️
  5. Marcus Stoinis ✈️
  6. Prerak Mankad
  7. Krunal Pandya
  8. Mohsin Khan
  9. Avesh Khan
  10. Ravi Bishnoi
  11. Mark Wood ✈️

Also Read: Rahul not going through best of times, management has to back him: Dinesh Karthik