Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), introduced in IPL 2022, is a franchise based in Lucknow owned by the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. Yet to win an IPL championship, the team has shown promise with consistent playoff appearances in its early seasons, building a reputation for aggressive batting and balanced bowling.

In IPL 2025, LSG finished fourth, securing a playoff spot with a mix of explosive performances and key wins, highlighted by Nicholas Pooran's record-breaking century and Mohammed Shami's 20-wicket haul, though they exited in the eliminator due to a batting collapse.

Ahead of IPL 2026, LSG retained Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Mohammed Shami for leadership and firepower. They released Ravi Bishnoi, David Miller, Aryan Juyal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, and Akash Deep to revamp the squad. Strengths include a solid top order and pace attack with Shami and Marsh, plus Pant's wicketkeeping and Pooran's finishing. Weaknesses lie in spin bowling depth and middle-order instability post-release.

With an auction purse of ₹120 Cr, LSG should target Ravi Bishnoi (₹2Cr) to reclaim their mystery spinner, Wanindu Hasaranga (₹2Cr) for all-round spin prowess, and Quinton de Kock (₹1Cr) as an opener to bolster batting depth.