The Lucknow Super Giants have been one of the most consistent franchises in the tournament since joining the league alongside the Gujarat Titans in 2022. After two consecutive playoffs runs in 2022 and 2023, the Sanjiv Goenka led franchise missed out on a third consecutive playoffs run by losing out on net-run-rate. With a new captain and a revamped squad, can LSG finally get their hands on the IPL trophy?
In this article, we take a look at the five domestic players who can make a difference for the Lucknow Super Giants this coming season.
Ravi Bishnoi
Ravi Bishnoi in recent times has emerged as India’s go-to T20 leg spinner. The 24-year-old, in that regard, has done exceedingly well to lead the Indian spin bowling department since the T20 World Cup. As the Lucknow Super Giants brace for another IPL season, with a plethora of fast bowlers and pitches that’ll most likely give assistance to those seamers, a lot will be riding on young Ravi Bishnoi’s shoulders as the lead spinner in the attack.
With similar pacer friendly tracks at the Ekana Stadium last season, Bishnoi struggled to both take wickets and restrict the run flow, taking just ten wickets in 14 matches and going at 8.77 runs per over. However, in the build up to this season’s IPL, the Rajasthan born cricketer has been in decent form in the domestic circuit. He picked up seven wickets at an economy of 6.56 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and followed that up with 14 wickets in just seven matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Mayank Yadav
Having missed his first two seasons with the Lucknow Super Giants due to various long-term injuries, 22-year-old Mayank Yadav finally made his debut during the 2024 season. His express pace and lethal bowling meant he was a constant menace for batters right from the off, and if not for his hamstring injury, it would have been a much different campaign for LSG.
However, just four games were enough for the LSG hierarchy to reward their express seamer with an INR 11 crore retention fee. Looking at the current make-up of the LSG squad, it goes without saying that they’ll be producing fast and seamer friendly wickets this time, too, and if they can keep the 22-year-old fit and firing, there’s no doubt it’ll be a much different campaign for this new franchise.
Avesh Khan
After just one season with the Rajasthan Royals, the 28-year-old is back with the Lucknow Super Giants. Having picked up 18 wickets in his first season with LSG in 2022, Avesh struggled with injuries and a lack of rhythm, playing just eight games all season the following year before donning the pink jersey of Rajasthan Royals in 2024.
Playing for RR, the 28-year-old seamer from Madhya Pradesh was one of their lead seamers alongside Trent Boult. He played 15 games last season and bagged 19 wickets, going at 9.59 runs per over mostly due to his death bowling responsibility. In the lead up to IPL 2025, Avesh picked up 10 wickets in SMAT, and followed that up with 11 wickets in just six games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Moreover, looking at the team composition, it is very likely that LSG will go with Mohsin Khan, Akash Deep and Avesh Khan as their primary seamers with Mayank coming in as the Impact Sub.
Shahbaz Ahmed
A prolific all-rounder who has over time immensely improved all three facets of his game, Shahbaz Ahmed showcased his pedigree and reliability with impressive performances throughout Sunrisers Hyderabad’s run to the IPL final last season. The 30-year-old left hander from Bengal contributed with both bat and ball last season, emerging as the go-to guy whenever the team needed him.
With his Wiley left-arm finger spin and ability to bat anywhere in the middle order, Shahbaz Ahmed scored 215 runs and picked up seven wickets for SRH last season. In recent times, he has become a reliable batter, scoring 297 runs in seven innings at the Bengal T20 league and followed that up with 237 runs in six innings at SMAT, striking at 176. In Krunal Pandya’s absence, the franchise might have just found their suitable replacement.
Arshin Kulkarni
The 19-year-old Arshin Kulkarni was thrown into the deep end to test his resolve against some of the very best in the game. Although his two outings towards the business end of last season didn’t bore LSG any fruits, following another year of cricket and decent outings in both SMAT and VHT means there could be more opportunities for him to cement his place in the LSG top order this time around.
In thirteen innings, Kulkarni scored 307 runs at a strike-rate of 147 in last year’s Maharashtra Premier League. He backed that up with 194 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring at 138. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he only played in the knockout games, scoring 107 and 90 runs to solidify this great form. Although both Aiden Markram and Matthew Breetzke are LSG’s lone opening option, only one of them is likely to play in the playing XI, leaving the other opening slot open for someone like Arshin Kulkarni to cash in.
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