Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) surprised fans at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday by naming Nicholas Pooran as their captain for the clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2024. Regular skipper KL Rahul was missing from the captaincy role, with Pooran walking out for the toss.
Why Nicholas Pooran is captaining LSG against PBKS?
Pooran explained at the toss that the decision to step in as captain was due to Rahul managing his return from injury. Having missed the final four Tests of India’s home series against England due to a quadriceps issue, the team management opted to ease him back into action. This isn’t Rahul’s first encounter with this injury, as he also missed several matches during IPL 2023 due to a similar quadriceps injury that required surgery.
While relinquishing the captaincy for this match, Rahul still contributed on the field with the bat. He was used an ‘Impact Player,’ a new IPL rule allowing teams to introduce one substitute during a match. In Rahul’s absence during LSG’s bowling, wicketkeeping duties will likely fall to either Quinton de Kock or Pooran himself.
Also READ: IPL 2024 – Broadcast, live streaming details – When and Where to watch in India, US, UK, Canada & other countries
Lucknow Super Giants’ Playing XI and Impact substitutes
LSG (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth
LSG Subs: Ashton Turner, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, Krishnappa Gowtham
Rahul had a strong start to the season
Despite missing the captaincy role in this match, Rahul has shown good form in the early stages of IPL 2024. He was the top scorer for LSG in their season opener against Rajasthan Royals (RR), contributing a valuable 58 runs off 44 balls, although they ultimately fell short by 20 runs.
