The fact that Quinton de Kock has won the IPL before could help LSG win the title in the next season.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are one of the youngest teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They look ready to start the biggest T20 cricket tournament in 2023 with a strong team.
Last year, the team led by KL Rahul made it to the playoffs in its first season. LSG was third in the points table because they won nine of their 14 league games. They lost by 14 runs to Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden Gardens in the eliminator game, but they could be proud of what they did in their first season in the league and learn a lot from it.
Before the mini-auction, the Super Giants had a team full of stars and a lot of players who could do everything. They decided to hire some specialists instead. They added hard-hitter Nicholas Pooran from the Caribbean, all-rounders Romario Shepherd and Daniel Sams, and fast bowlers Naveen-ul-Haq and Jaydev Unadkat.
In the next season, LSG will probably bat deep with a good mix of Indian and international players. With the addition of experienced pacers, the Super Giants could go all the way this season. With that in mind, let’s look at five players who could be the difference-makers for the team in IPL 2023.
KL Rahul
This season, the Super Giants will again be led by KL Rahul, who is the vice-captain of Team India. Last year, he was one of the players with the most runs. In 15 games, he scored 616 runs, giving him an impressive average of 51.33. So far, he has scored 3,889 runs in 109 games, which is an average of 48.01, in the money-rich league. You can be sure that he will be among the runners again.
Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock, a South African wicketkeeper, is a talent that any IPL team would love to have on their team. He will be a big deal for LSG in the coming season because he was one of the best players on the team last year. Last season, the southpaw scored 508 runs in 15 games, for an average of 36.29. De Kock has scored 2,764 runs in 92 IPL games, which is a strike rate of 133.91. He has won the IPL before. There’s no doubt that his background and experience will be very useful.
Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda, an Indian batsman in the middle of the order, was a big reason why LSG had a good first season. Hooda’s best IPL season was in 2022 when he averaged 32.21 runs per game and scored 451 runs in 15 games. Since his first IPL game, he has scored 1,236 runs at a strike rate of 132.05 in 95 games. Hooda can also help with the ball, and he has already taken 10 wickets in the IPL.
Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan, an up-and-coming seam bowler from India, will be a go-to bowler for LSG. After a couple of good seasons in the IPL, the fast player joined the Super Giants last year. Avesh didn’t let anyone down and got off to a good start last season. He took 18 wickets in 13 games. In 38 IPL games so far, he has taken 47 wickets at an average cost of 8.40.
Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi is a big name on India’s U-19 team for 2020. He has already played 10 T20 internationals for the Men in Blue and taken 16 wickets. Last year, he took 13 wickets for the Lucknow Super Giants in 14 games. So far, Bishnoi has taken 37 wickets in the same number of IPL games, for a total economy of 7.53. Expect him to get better and better during the next campaign.
