IPL 2022 auction: 3 reasons why the Lucknow Super Giants are a formidable side

The 15th edition of the IPL is expected to start on March 27. Two new IPL franchises from Lucknow and Ahmedabad have been added to the league this season, making it a 10-team tournament.

The Lucknow Super Giants squad is as follows:

KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Kyle Mayers, K Gowtham, Evin Lewis

The Super Giants will most likely start with a playing XI of KL Rahul (C), de Kock (wk), Pandey, Hooda, Stoinis, Krunal, Holder, Gowtham, Bishnoi, Avesh, Wood. The team have strong batters till the No. 8 position and also has impressive bowling options, something which offers the captain a lot of depth to work with.

We look at three reasons why the Super Giants are a formidable side.

#3 World-class opening pair

The Lucknow Super Giants announced KL Rahul as their captain after the draft picks for the two new IPL franchises. At the mega-auction, they signed South African wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock for 6.75 crores.

Both batters have been extremely consistent in the last three seasons of the IPL. De Kock has scored 1329 runs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 132 while Rahul has scored 1889 runs at an average of 57 and a strike rate of 134. The left-right combination at the top can work extremely well for Lucknow.

They can also avail the services of West Indian opener Evin Lewis - who they acquired for just 2 crores - if de Kock happens to miss a few IPL games or is not in good form. Marcus Stoinis could also be given the role if needed.

#2 All-rounders will add balance to the playing XI

Lucknow has done extremely well to acquire some quality all-rounders at the mega-auction. In the T20 format, it is important that the team possesses decent batting and bowling depth. The Super Giants have ticked these boxes ahead of the new season.

Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder are marquee international all-rounders, while Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya can also deliver with both ball and bat. All four players can float in the batting order as well depending upon the opposition and the different game situations.

Lucknow's second Indian spinner Krishnappa Gowtham is also an all-rounder, so the team bats all the way till No. 8 and has eight bowling options in their most likely playing XI. This will allow the top-order batters to play their natural game and take the contest away from the opposition.

#1 Impressive bowling attack

Lucknow signed young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for 4 crores in the draft picks ahead of the IPL mega-auction. Their other major signings in the spin department were Krunal Pandya, K Gowtham and Deepak Hooda - all of whom can chip in with crucial overs at different stages of the game.

They have done extremely well to buy two quality pacers in Avesh Khan and Mark Wood. Both have shown a lot of potential in their short careers. Avesh took 24 wickets last season at an economy rate of just 7.38. He bowled well in all phases of the game, something which will also assist Wood.

The Super Giants also have Jason Holder, who has improved a lot as a T20 bowler in recent times. He has taken 30 wickets in just 15 games in the previous two IPL seasons for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera has also been signed by the Super Giants, who could prove to be a quality backup for Wood and Holder in case of fitness and/or form-related issues.