IPL 2023: KL Rahul To Open With Either Kyle Mayers Or Deepak Hooda In Lucknow Super Giants’ 1st Two Games
New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will have to decide on Kyle Mayers or Deepak Hooda as who will open the batting with KL Rahul in their first two games in IPL 2023 since Quinton de Kock is unavailable due to national duty.
De Kock, who is currently playing the T20I series against West Indies, will be playing South Africa’s two ICC World Cup qualifier games against Netherlands on March 31 and April 2. Hence, LSG will have to manage without QDK against Delhi Capitals (March 1) and Chennai Super Kings (March 3).
“In case of De Kock, the best option is Kyle Mayers, who is also a left-hander and has a decent strike rate of close to 135 in T20Is. On Sunday, he was brilliant against South Africa during his 27-ball-51. So Mayers is favourite to partner Rahul in first two games,” a source close to LSG camp told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
In case, LSG wants to play their overseas stars to play in middle-order and bowling, Hooda seems to be a perfect fit alongside Rahul. Hooda has scored a century for India in a T20Is while opening the batting last year against Ireland.
Meanwhile, pacer Mohsin Khan, who is currently doing his rehabilitation with LSG’s strength and conditioning unit, is expected to miss at least first leg of the tournament but team think-tank feels he might be available for the second phase.
During the course of the tournament, Jammu and Kashmir’s Yudhvir Singh Charak or Vidarbha’s Yash Thakur, both of whom have made an impression at training sessions might be tried out depending on team’s situation and pitch conditions.