Lakshmipathy Balaji speaks about LSG`s overseas combination ahead of season

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The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.

Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Lakshmipathy Balaji feels that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is heavily depending on their three overseas batsmen.

“The top order, especially with Marsh, Aiden Markram, and of course Pooran, is stacked. They have given solid starts and out-batted the opposition on multiple occasions last season. The concerns were the bowling, the captaincy, and the tactical side of the leadership group. They definitely depend heavily on their overseas trio of batters,” he said.

With only four overseas players allowed in the playing XI, the former cricketer also picked the names of Indian players, who, according to him, may deliver performances.

“You have the likes of Badoni, Abdul Samad, and Shahbaz Ahmed, all of whom can chip in. But the top order and Rishabh Pant will have to do the heavy lifting,” said Balaji.

Along with Marsh, Markram, and Pooran, he also named his fourth overseas player, who could fit in the combination for Lucknow. Balaji feels that if Wanindu Hasaranga stays unfit, Anrich Nortje can be picked in the playing XI.

“On the overseas combination, normally I would pick three batters, so the first-choice players, Marsh, Markram, and Pooran, walk in. Then, you need to strengthen the bowling attack with one overseas fast bowler, as we are still unsure whether Hasaranga will be fully fit or not. If not, Anrich Nortje would be my choice as the fourth overseas player,” said the former cricketer.

IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals: Full Squads

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi.

Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tipurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari.

(With ANI Inputs)

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