IPL 2023: 3 Players LSG might pick at the auction
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made their debut during the last edition of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL) tournament and managed to impress everyone. KL Rahul-led team won nine of fourteen group stage matches to finish in the third position in the league table but suffered a narrow defeat in the eliminator clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Apart from Rahul, Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda put in impressive performances with bat while Indian pacers Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan shines with a ball.
LSG released the star all-rounder Jason Holder alongside big names of Manish Pandey, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Evin Lewis, and others. LSG are likely to focus on signing a middle-order batter and an all-rounder in the upcoming auction and have INR 23.35 crore in their purse.
Jason Holder
The former West Indies captain scored 58 runs from eight innings but took 14 wickets 12 innings during the IPL 2022 season with LSG. The Lucknow-based franchise spent INR 8.75 crore on to sign Holder during the last auction. The management will be hopeful of re-signing the Caribbean star for a price below INR 5 crore as he is unlikely to attract big bucks due to his recent poor form with bat.
Ben Stokes
The English red-ball team captain missed the IPL 2022 season to focus more on Test cricket but remains one of the best all-rounders across formats. Considering his current form and his all-round contribution on the pitch this year, IPL teams are likely to go to war for his signature. If LSG fails to sign Holder, then they are likely to break the bank for Stokes.
Rilee Rossouw
LSG struggled to find their regular batters in the middle order with Manish Pandey and Deepak Hooda rotating in the number three and four positions. Rossouw can be a top pick for LSG as he can make big impact in the middle-order with Deepak Hooda. Rossouw smashed two centuries in T20Is this year, against India and Bangladesh. He has set a base price of INR 2 crore in the IPL 2023 mini-auction but will definitely grab more than that on December 23 in Kochi.
