The newly inducted Lucknow Super Giants will be pleased with the business they had done in the two days of mega auction for the Indian Premier League 2022. Having retained K.L. Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, and Ravi Bishnoi, the Super Giants' most expensive buy was Avesh Khan, upon whom the franchise splurged INR 10 crores.
Avesh and Mark Wood will spearhead the pace attack, while Quinton de Kock will partner captain Rahul at the top. Both men can keep wickets, thereby adding to the balance of the side. The acquisition of all-rounders in Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, and Krunal Pandya will give them the flexibility as they zero in on the playing XI.
Lucknow Super Giants Squad for IPL 2022
K.L. Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, K Gowtham, Dushmanta Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Evin Lewis, Mayank Yadav
Strength
Rahul and de Kock make up for a formidable opening pair. There is no dearth of experience at the highest level, and their skill sets complement each other. De Kock is an elite pace hitter, striking in excess of 140 in T20s, but can be a bit fidgety against spinners. Rahul, on the other hand, is an excellent hitter of spin. Down the order, the likes of Pandey, Pandya, and Hooda can take on spinners with ease.
The fast-bowling duo of Avesh and Wood looks promising, and they have another decent backup pacer in Chameera. Holder is a great option to keep the run-flow in check in middle overs.
Weakness
The middle order does not inspire confidence. Pandey did not had a great time at Sunrisers Hyderabad last year, and his hitting range is quite limited. Stoinis possesses the ability to attack from the word go, but Hooda, Vohra, and Pandya can be easily tackled by top pace attacks.
Their spin attack is solely reliant on Bishnoi, who was drafted ahead of the auction. They also acquired Nadeem, but he is unlikely to be the regular starter. Pandya will be used as the second spinner, while Hooda may also chip in if required.
Probable XI:
Quinton de Kock (wk), K.L. Rahul (c), Manish Pandey, Manan Vohra, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mark Wood