Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of the newest franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), have made the playoffs twice in their first three seasons in the league. But, after a disappointing campaign last year, the LSG management did a major overhaul in the leadership role, releasing their former captain KL Rahul before signing Rishabh Pant for a whopping INR 27 Crore contract, making him the highest paid cricketer in IPL history, before handing them the leadership reins.
Here is LSG's Strongest Predicted Playing XI for this season
Openers: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh
South African Aiden Markram and Australian Mitchell Marsh, the captain of their respective national T20I teams, are expected to open the batting for LSG in the IPL 2025 season, apart from bowling a few key overs as well. While these two batters haven’t been quite as consistent as they would have liked in T20 cricket in recent times, they are very capable of taking any bowling attack apart in the power play, which could be the best thing to happen for the franchise after signing them in the recent mega auction.
Middle Order: Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad
Nicholas Pooran was one of the most consistent batters for LSG last season of the IPL, scoring runs at a brisk pace, which strikes fear in the bowling lineups whenever they come up against him. The arrival of Rishabh Pant has been the biggest talking point surrounding LSG over the past few months, and eventually, in the build-up to the 2025 season, he was officially given the captaincy of the franchise as rumoured online.
Ayush Badoni has evolved into becoming a very good cricketer after joining LSG three years ago, making 42 appearances for them, with batting being his primary role. David Miller, the South African international, has been in sensational form in limited-overs cricket for a long time, and in his previous IPL stint, which was with Gujarat Titans, he won the title in 2022.
Abdul Samad was a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the IPL from 2020, playing 50 matches for them in his young career, with a few impactful innings apart from bowling at times.
Bowlers: Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav
Avesh Khan was a part of LSG prior to 2024 before he was traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he was quite good at times in executing death bowling skills, which is something the fast bowler will look to continue this season. Ravi Bishnoi is quite quick through the air for a leg spinner, not allowing batters to play lofted strokes easily, which not only helps him to keep the economy rate down, but also take wickets.
Mohsin Khan, the left-arm pacer, has managed to bring variety into his bowling as he gained more experience at the IPL level, and now, he has the ability to take wickets with the new ball and the old ball. Mayank Yadav, who is arguably the fastest bowler in India currently, played the role of an enforcer in his few appearances for LSG, single-handedly securing a couple of wins for the franchise.
Impact Player: Arshin Kulkarni for Mayank Yadav
Arshin Kulkarni, the right-handed batter, who is one of the most promising young talents in the country, could be making more impact player appearances for LSG in the IPL 2025 season.
