3 LSG players who should be released after IPL 2023
The Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) have had a great initiation into the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they qualified for the playoffs this year as well. Remember, they made their debut last year along with the Gujarat Titans (GT).
And like last year, Lucknow lost in the eliminator to crash out of the tournament this year as well. They received a thrashing at the hands of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Chennai. While it was a good season for the Supergiants, there are areas that need polishing as they look to rebuild for the next season.
They will look to address the concerns so that they can go that extra mile in 2024. They will also need to decide upon their retention list, a core that they believe can take the team forward. There will be a few others who LSG would see as surplus to their requirements.
On that note, here's a look at three players that LSG can release after IPL 2023.
#1 Jaydev Unadkat
Over the last few years, Unadkat's record in the IPL hasn't been great. In the last six seasons (46 games) he has picked up only 35 wickets which is quite concerning. His economy rate has been over 9.5 in five of those seasons.
This year, he went wicketless in the three opportunities that he got before being ruled out of the season due to an injury. His economy was over the roof as well. As RR and MI did in the recent past, Lucknow too will probably release him considering his below-par performances.
#2 Manan Vohra
Over the last few years, Manan Vohra has not got to play too many games in the Indian Premier League. Since 2018, he has only received 18 opportunities, scoring just 126 runs.
This year, he came into the playing XI only because of the injury to KL Rahul. LSG gave him only one game in which he could manage to score only 10 runs. LSG could look to release Vohra and get someone else into their squad - someone in whom they have more faith.
#3 Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda had a disastrous IPL 2023, as he could only score 84 runs over 12 games. His strike rate of 93.33 was also extremely poor. The LSG management dropped him and picked him again on a couple of occasions which didn't help the situation either.
His batting position was also tinkered with multiple times. With the arrival of Prerak Mankad and Ayush Badoni, Lucknow might think of releasing Hooda to free up 5.75 crores. That massive sum can then be used to fix other holes in the side.