The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will play the Eliminator for the second successive Indian Premier League (IPL) season after having finished third at the end of the league stage this year.
LSG will face off against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24, with a spot in Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on the line.
The Super Giants seemed primed to stutter after regular skipper KL Rahul was ruled out of the tournament, but stand-in captain Krunal Pandya has marshaled his troops fairly well. They won their last three matches in the league stage to secure a playoff spot.
Lucknow haven't arrived at a settled combination, though, and might consider a few tweaks to their side for the all-important knockout clash.
Here is LSG's predicted playing XI for the IPL 2023 Eliminator against MI.
Note: Playing XIs are bound to vary majorly in IPL 2023, with the introduction of the impact player rule as well as captains having the chance to name their side after the result of the toss is known.
LSG vs MI: LSG Predicted Playing 11 vs MI in IPL 2023
None of LSG's domestic top-order batters have made a mark this season. Manan Vohra and Deepak Hooda are now out of the mix, while Karan Sharma, who played the previous game, has done nothing of note.
The Super Giants might be forced to bring back Kyle Mayers for this contest to beef up their top order. That would mean that Naveen-ul-Haq, who has bowled a few expensive overs of late, will miss out. Avesh Khan could replace Naveen in the side if they want to play an equal number of fast bowlers.
LSG might be tempted to play both Amit Mishra and Krishnappa Gowtham, but that might leave them too short on fast-bowling resources. So one of the two could come in as an impact player.
The rest of the lineup is bound to wear a similar look to the one that put on a string of wins towards the end of the league stage.
LSG's predicted playing XI for the IPL 2023 Eliminator: Quinton de Kock (wk), Kyle Mayers, Prerak Mankad, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya (c), Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur.
Impact player candidates: Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Amit Mishra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda.
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