They will play their first match against the another newly emerged team of the league, Gujarat Titans (GT).
The team Lucknow Super Giants will be led by KL Rahul. LSG bought KL Rahul by paying a big sum of 17 crore.
Lucknow has aggressive batsmen like Rahul, Evin Lewis and Quinton de Kock, who can take a toll on any opposition bowlers in the powerplay. Especially, de Kock is in good form and if he continues with that, the team will be in great benefit.
At the same time, the team has reposed faith in an experienced batsman like Manish Pandey. However, last season was pretty ordinary for Pandey. If it doesn’t go well, he can be the weak link in the team.
Deepak Hooda will be useful as a match finisher as he has done for team India in the last couple of matches. Overall, Lucknow’s batting line-up as a unit looks strong. However, it is unlikely that they will continue with settled 11.
Mark Wood is out of the IPL 2022 due to injury. This is a big blow to the team. Lucknow has bought Avesh Khan for Rs 10 crore. He did an amazing job for Delhi last season. But he doesn’t bring experience to bowl in the death overs so it will be always a trouble for LGS while bowling in the last 4 overs.
Dushmanta Chamira is included in the team among foreign fast bowlers but how much impact he will make, is uncertain. Surely, his pace can trouble the batsmen in early overs .
In spin bowling, Lucknow has Ravi Bishnoi, who can do wonders with his wrist spin. He could be the emerging player this year.
Lucknow has bought overseas all-rounders Jason Holder of West Indies, Marcus Stoinis of Australia and Kyle Meyers of West Indies in the IPL auction. Two of them are expected to play in every match.
Stoinis and Holder have been proving their mettle in international cricket for some time now. Both are strong timers of the ball so it is a balancing element to the team.
Among the Indian all-rounders, Lucknow has bet on Krishnappa Gautam and Krunal Pandya. Overall, Lucknow has a good squad of useful all-rounders, who will provide balance to the team.
TEAM
KL Rahul (captain), Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajput, Krishnappa Gautam, Dushmanta Chamira, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Aayush Badoni, Kyle Meyers and Karan Sharma