3 young LSG bowlers to watch out for in IPL 2024 ft. Shamar Joseph
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have been one of the better performing franchises over the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They reached the playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons under the leadership of KL Rahul but could not seal crunch moments, and fell short of the title.
Nevertheless, with fresh energy and right mindset, LSG would look to go a few steps further to lift their maiden IPL title. Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, they traded Avesh Khan to the Rajasthan Royals and acquired Devdutt Padikkal from them. On D-Day, LSG bought six players, including notable players like David Willey, Shivam Mavi and Ashton Turner.
In the batting department, the Lucknow-based franchise have Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis. The bowling unit has the presence of Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra and Krishnappa Gowtham.
Their overseas pacer, Mark Wood, opted to pull out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup. In place of him, Lucknow secured the services of the Windies fast bowling sensation, Shamar Joseph.
On that note, let's discuss the three young bowling prospects for LSG in IPL 2024:
3 young LSG bowlers to watch out for in IPL 2024
#1 Yash Thakur
An emerging pacer, Yash Thakur has been breathing fire in the domestic circuit. While representing Vidarbha, Thakur scalped 27 wickets in seven games to play a key role in the team emerging as a runner-up in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24.
In the last IPL season, the 25-year-old picked 13 wickets in nine appearances, and played a part in the team's qualification to the playoffs. With an impressive form and a hunger to take wickets, Thakur could again be doing well for the franchise.
#2 Shamar Joseph
In his maiden Test series, Caribbean pacer, Shamar Joseph earned praise from fans and cricket pundits due to his pace and accuracy. In two Tests, Joseph scalped 13 wickets, with the best performance of 7/68, which helped West Indies to secure their first Test win in Australia after 1997.
Joseph is certainly a quality replacement for Mark Wood, due to his ability to hurry the batters. Joseph, who has played only 2 T20Is, will fight for an overseas pacer slot with David Willey/ Naveen Ul Haq, who are far more experienced than him in T20s.
#3 Manimaran Siddharth
The young left-arm spinner, Manimaran Siddharth impressed the onlookers with his performance in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2023. He picked up 11 wickets in nine appearances for champions Lyca Kovai Kings at an average of 17.36. As a result, he was snapped by LSG for the 2024 season.
With an ability to pick wickets across all formats, Siddharth could be useful on different surfaces for LSG. Moreover, he can form a potent combination with veteran Amit Mishra on a spin-friendly surface, like the Ekana Stadium.