Krunal Pandya will lead Lucknow against CSK if Rahul is ruled out due to his injury

 

Needing 127 runs to win, LSG will look to get back to winning ways when they host MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, after suffering a crushing 18-run defeat against RCB. LSG has won five out of nine matches and lost four so far.

This could be the biggest worry for the LSG franchise as CSK also has a solid spin attack with players like Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mahesh Thekshana.

LSG Facing an Injury Battle

Lucknow is also battling a few injuries and chances of KL Rahul and Jaydev Unadkat's return are slim. Rahul was ruled out against RCB while Unadkat injured himself ahead of the clash.

Meanwhile, the extent of KL Rahul's injury is currently unknown but it is unlikely that the LSG skipper will be fit enough to play. Krunal Pandya is expected to lead the side in Rahul's absence.

In Rahul's absence, Lucknow could try Quinton de Kock at the top and look for a combination in which they can only fit three overseas players in the XI. If so, then LSG could introduce another player as an impact substitute, which would fix a certain amount of visible weaknesses in the LSG camp.

LSG Players Report

Kyle Mayers has scored 297 runs this season, including four fifties. Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis have scored 225 and 229 runs respectively but the former has been relatively quiet at the home venue owing to its spin-friendly conditions.

Deepak Hooda has been in poor form this season and will hope to make a notable contribution in the coming matches, especially now that the team is troubled by KL Rahul's injury. He has scored only 53 runs this season, whereas in IPL 2022 he scored more than 400 runs.

While Naveen-ul-Haq is in good form, the team could use him as an impact player and replace him with an Indian pacer, perhaps Avesh Khan or Yudhvir Singh. This will allow LSG to field three overseas players in the form of Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran. Depending on the situation, they can either bring in Naveen or de Kock.

LSG predicted playing XI vs CSK:

Openers:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers.

Middle order:

Ayush Badoni, K Gautam

All-rounders:

Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya (c), Marcus Stoinis

Pacers:

Yudhveer Singh, Yash Thakur

Spinners:

Amit Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi

Impact Player:

With three overseas players in the playing XI, LSG could finally give South African star Quinton de Kock some time in the chase. If batting first, LSG can field fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq in the XI if needed.