The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have begun their 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with mixed results. Even though KL Rahul and co. have a talented team with many match-winners, they have only won four of their seven games so far, despite clearly having the advantage of playing at home. With a net run rate of +0.547, they are third in the points table, but the tight league means they could fall at any time.
Gautam Gambhir and Andy Flower are prominent members of LSG’s think tank, but they haven’t been at their best from a tactical standpoint. This year, the Super Giants have underachieved due to a number of questionable decisions and their results. In IPL 2023, LSG has repeatedly committed the following three tactical errors:
3) At the top of the list, KL Rahul’s intentions have been questioned.
A few dooming measurements in regards to KL Rahul have surfaced as of late. Despite having a wide range of groundballs in his arsenal, the opening batter has never been known for consistently attacking.
His team has lost as many as 12 times out of the 26 times Rahul has played more than 50 balls in an IPL innings. When he bats in the second inning, these numbers go up. Considering his strike rate, it’s clear why.
Since 2018, Rahul hasn’t played in the IPL with a strike rate above 140, and this year, the metric has dropped to a dismal 113.91, which is the lowest it has been in a season since 2015. The LSG skipper has also played some terrible innings on friendly wickets, although some of that can be attributed to the slow surface at the Ekana Stadium.
It is abundantly clear that Rahul’s approach at the top of the hierarchy is detrimental to each team he plays for, but he has stubbornly refused to acknowledge this. He has been consuming balls in the middle overs and on the powerplay, putting the players around him in the awkward position of having to make up for his negative impact.
2) Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, and Marcus Stoinis have all been used incorrectly by LSG.
In today’s T20 cricket, entry points and matchups play a big role, and LSG have made a lot of bad decisions so far.
Although neither batter is known to be an effective top-order option, Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni have been moved up the order at will. Krunal has allowed just 103 runs in seven innings with an average of 20.6 and a strike rate of 115.73, while Badoni has an average of 17 and a strike rate of 130 this year.
Marcus Stoinis is another player who has been used out of position. The Aussie all-rounder has clear restrictions against turn, however the Super Goliaths haven’t safeguarded him from that way of bowling. In fact, they have even moved him up the ranks to face spin ahead of Nicholas Pooran and others like him.
In an ideal world, each of the three of Stoinis, Badoni and Krunal ought to be utilized in the center request. While Badoni might be a possibility at No. 5, different two ought to bat even lower than him. Who will therefore bat at No. 4 then?
1) The talent of Nicholas Pooran isn’t being used to its full potential.
Nicholas Pooran fills two obvious holes in the LSG roster and was signed for a whopping 16 crore rupees at the IPL 2023 auction.
The first is that there is no left-handed player who can compete with leg spinners and spinners with the left arm, which Pooran excels at. The West Indian is a unique T20 package because he is a great spin bowler who can also perform admirably against pace.
The other option is to help the middle order and let people like Stoinis and Badoni succeed further down the order. LSG will be able to take advantage at the end if Pooran can maintain momentum in the middle overs.
Pooran has, regrettably, batted at No. 4 only once in 2023’s IPL. He has taken over as No. 6 four times, but despite his strong numbers, he is too good to be used as a finisher. The underdog even placed No. 7 once, which is completely beyond reproach.
In this LSG team, Pooran should be used as a top-four batter. The left-hander’s talent must be utilized to the fullest extent for Lucknow to succeed in the IPL 2023 season and reach their full potential.