Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be opening their campaign in IPL 2025 by taking on Delhi Capitals (DC). The game is scheduled to take place on Monday (March 24) at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Lucknow Super Giants will be starting a new journey this season. After being led by KL Rahul in their first three seasons, the Lucknow-based outfit has a new captain for IPL 2025. They will be led by former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant.
Lucknow Super Giants made Pant the highest-paid player of all time in the last auction and will be hoping that he guides them to their first title. After qualifying for the playoffs in the first two seasons, LSG missed out on a top-four finish last season.
They will be looking to start the new season with a win. And ahead of their game against DC, we are taking a look at the LSG Playing 11.
LSG Playing 11 vs Delhi Capitals- IPL 2025, Match 4:
Openers: Arshin Kulkarni, Mitchell Marsh
Arshin Kulkarni and Mitchell Marsh are expected to be the two openers in the Lucknow Super Giants Playing 11. While Aiden Markram is also a good opening option, LSG is unlikely to include him until their Indian fast bowlers recover fully from their injuries.
Kulkarni played two games for Lucknow Super Giants last season but could not deliver with the bat. However, he impressed in the domestic circuit and was Maharashtra’s leading run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.
Marsh is more experienced and the onus will be on him to ensure that Lucknow Super Giants gets off to a good start. The Australian allrounder is set to play this season as a batsman only because of back issues and will look to deliver with the bat.
Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed
Rishabh Pant will be starting a new journey in the IPL this year. After playing for Delhi Capitals since his IPL debut in 2016, Pant is set to be playing for a different team for the very first time. He also has the added responsibility of leading the team.
Pant has fallen the pecking order in India’s limited-overs teams in recent times and will have a point to prove this season. He was DC’s highest run-scorer last season and will now look to lead Lucknow Super Giants from the front.
Nicholas Pooran will arguably be the most important batsman in the LSG Playing 11. The West Indies star can blow away any team on his day and Lucknow Super Giants will be hoping that he delivers for them consistently this season.
Ayush Badoni will be another crucial player in the Lucknow Super Giants Playing 11. The right-handed batsman has the ability to anchor the innings as well as play the big shots when the situation demands. He has played 42 IPL games so far and has scored 634 runs at a strike rate of over 130, including four fifties.
David Miller and Abdul Samad will be the other pinch hitters in the LSG Playing 11. Miller has ample experience of playing in the IPL and LSG will be hoping that the South Africa veteran lives up to the expectations. He played a huge role when Gujarat Titans won the title in 2022 and will look to make a similar impact for LSG too.
Shahbaz Ahmed is set to be one of the main all-rounders in the Lucknow Super Giants Playing 11. He impressed with the bat while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and will look to deliver again.
Bowlers: Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph
In the absence of several key bowlers, bowling can be a weak link for LSG. The likes of Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, and Akash Deep are all recovering from injuries.
In their absence, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Shamar Joseph are expected to be the fast bowlers while Ravi Bishnoi is set to lead the spin attack.
