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Quinton de Kock to replace Australia star but where will he bat?: Here's LSG's likely XI vs SRH in IPL 2023
Quinton de Kock is available for selection in Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2023 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
After falling short by 12 runs in a high-scoring affair against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk, KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who had earlier defeated Delhi Capitals by a whopping 50 runs in their first home game, would be keen to get back to winning ways. South African wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock will be available for selection again after concluding national duty with the Proteas.
Caribbean batter Kyle Mayers, who was given the opportunity in de Kock's absence to open the innings with Rahul, has been in destructive form and has notched up two half-centuries in the two matches played so far at a strike rate of over 200. Similarly, Mayers' compatriot Nicholas Pooran has also been in clinical form and has displayed glimpses of his abilities in both the matches that the team has played so far in the tournament.
With de Kock expected to make his comeback, all-rounder Stoinis might make way for the Proteas batter in the LSG XI.
The skipper’s form will be a cause for concern as he has failed to make any sort of notable contribution with the bat in the opening two games.
In IPL 2022, Rahul and De Kock did the bulk of the run-scoring, with both scoring more than 500 runs. Deepak Hooda was the only other consistent performer amongst the batters with more than 400 runs. The LSG hierarchy will hope that Mayers and Pooran can continue their good form and support Rahul, De Kock and Hooda with the run-scoring this season.
On the bowling front, English fast bowler Mark Wood had a good spell in the first match against Delhi Capitals, picking up a fifer, but was hammered for runs in the second match against CSK, although he still managed to claim three scalps. LSG will also be happy with the good form of lead spinner Ravi Bishnoi as he has already picked up 5 wickets at an economy of less than 8.
Looking back at their performance in their debut season, LSG relished a decent campaign as they concluded the league phase sitting third on the points table. However, their campaign came to a screeching halt after a loss against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator. Ahead of the 2023 auction, Lucknow released Jason Holder, Manish Pandey, Dushmantha Chameera, Evin Lewis, Shahbaz Nadeem, Andrew Tye, and Ankit Rajpoot.
At the auction LSG bought West Indian wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran for a whopping ₹16 crore, making him the most expensive Caribbean ever to play in the league. They also successfully acquired the services of Aussie quick Daniel Sams for ₹75 lakh, experienced domestic bowler Jaydev Unadkat for INR 50 lakh, Windies all-rounder Romario Shepherd for INR 50 lakh, and youngster Yash Thakur for INR 45 lakh as quality backups to their existing squad.
Mohsin Khan is expected to miss the bulk of the season as he recovers from injury. The impressive left-arm seamer who finished as the second-most economical bowler of the 2022 IPL, after Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders has not played competitive cricket since a shoulder surgery last year, though he has joined the Lucknow camp.
LSG have used Krishnappa Gowtham and Ayush Badoni as Impact players in the first two games and might look to use either of them in the same role again.
LSG predicted XI vs SRH
Openers: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers.
Middle Order: Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni.
All-Rounders: Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya.
Bowlers: Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi.
Impact Player
The Lucknow Super Giants can pick Ayush Badoni if Rahul and Co. opt to bat first. Jaydev Unadkat and Yash Thakur are the two Impact Player bowling options LSG have in their squad. If they bowl, one of these two seamers can play in pace of Badoni.
