Pacers Shardul Thakur and Shivam Mavi are training with Lucknow Super Giants as four of their pacers – Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Akash Deep are out with respective injuries.
Several Lucknow Super Giants pacers are currently out with their respective injuries and are expected to miss the first few matches in the IPL 2025. The franchise spent heavily on Indian pacers in the auction and bought only Shamar Joseph from overseas. In the meantime, the likes of Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan and Akash Deep are currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and in case they fail to recover in time, LSG are ready to announce their replacements.
Shardul Thakur and Shivam Mavi, who went unsold in the auction, are training with the franchise at the moment. They have been active in practice sessions and match simulations and are very likely to be named in the squad as LSG have been put in a tricky spot ahead of their opening game of the IPL 2025 against Delhi Capitals on March 24.
The NCA doctors haven’t confirmed when the four LSG pacers will be returning to action. Avesh is expected to join the squad soon but he is yet to receive the green light. Akash, who picked up a back injury during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is unlikely to get clearance anytime soon, while Mayank is still undergoing rehabilitation and may join the squad after a couple of weeks if deemed fit.
Interestingly, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will also be returning from a hamstring injury and is very unlikely to bowl in the upcoming edition. With that, Lucknow are left with only three options – Shamar, Prince Yadav and Akash Singh. Among all-rounders, they can bank on Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Arshin Kulkarni. However, none of these five players have enough experience.
LSG squad: Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Matthew Breetzke, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Raj Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni.
